'Global X Japan Investing in Digital Innovation', Two ETFs Listed

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] Global X Japan will list two ETFs investing in e-commerce and digital innovation on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on the 27th.

Global X Japan is a Japanese corporation established by Global X, a U.S. ETF manager under Mirae Asset Global Investments, and Japan's Daiwa Securities Group.

The newly listed Global X E-commerce Japan ETF is a product that invests broadly in Japan's e-commerce sector. Its portfolio includes companies operating online shopping platforms, marketplaces providing digital content and services, various online subscription services, mobile and electronic payment technologies, and REITs investing in related logistics facilities. The underlying index is the Indxx Japan e-Commerce Index, which includes more than 20 e-commerce related stocks. The size of the Japanese e-commerce market has steadily grown at an annual rate of about 10% over the past decade.

The Global X Digital Innovation Japan ETF invests across markets where efficiency and productivity are improved and lifestyles are transformed through digital technology. The underlying index, the Solactive Digital Innovation Japan Index, consists of the top 60 stocks related to digital innovation. It selects target stocks related to detailed themes such as cloud computing, electronic payments and transactions, streaming, cybersecurity, and telemedicine, applying keyword search algorithms to assign weights based on relevance. Stocks are screened using ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) negative screening as defined by the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI).

Meanwhile, the Global X MSCI High Dividend Japan ETF and Global X Logistics J-REIT ETF, which Global X Japan first listed in August last year, have recorded net assets of 130 billion KRW and 75 billion KRW respectively.

Yoon Ju-young, CIO of Global X Japan, said, "With this listing, we are introducing Japan's first differentiated innovation growth theme ETFs in a market dominated by benchmark index ETFs," adding, "For domestic investors, Japan-themed ETFs can serve as an alternative in terms of investing in global new growth themes while also providing exposure to the Japanese yen."

According to ETF research firm ETFGI, as of the end of last year, the Japanese ETF market was valued at $529.3 billion (approximately 583 trillion KRW) with 190 products listed. It accounts for 6.8% of the global ETF market and is the second-largest market after the U.S., which holds 68.7% of the market by country. Equity ETFs make up 98.2% of the market, which is primarily driven by institutional investors such as the Bank of Japan (BOJ).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.