Chinese fund companies begin to issue sci-tech innovation bond ETFs

Chinese fund companies on Monday issued the first batch of 10 sci-tech innovation bond ETFs onto the market.

ETFs are a basket of securities that traders could buy and redeem freely on an exchange with their shares being variable.

According to the announcements from the fund companies, seven of the 10 ETFs will raise funds only on Monday, two will raise funds till July 11, and the remaining one to be on the market till July 18.

Regarding issuance targets, the upper limit of the fund-raising scale of the 10 products is generally set at three billion yuan (about 419 million U.S. dollars).

Industry insiders estimate that after the issuance of the 10 sci-tech innovation bond ETFs, the total scale of bond ETFs on the Chinese market may exceed 400 billion yuan (about 56 billion U.S. dollars).

"Compared with traditional credit bond index funds, the sci-tech bond ETFs have obvious advantages in liquidity, trading convenience, and fees, with lower investment threshold than direct investment in sci-tech bonds. The sci-tech bond ETFs effectively fill the gap in the field of bond funds for the theme of sci-tech finance, and will expand the channels for individual investors to allocate sci-tech bond assets," said Wang Zhe, proposed fund manager for the Harvest CSI AAA sci-tech innovation bond ETF.

Sci-tech innovation bonds are credit bonds issued by sci-tech innovation enterprises, raising funds mainly to support the corresponding field. They are an important tool for the bond market to serve sci-tech innovation enterprises in financing and promote the development of the real economy.

Experts said that the launch of the ETFs is a key measure for the capital market to respond to China's national strategy of sci-tech innovation.

A rare sight of a wolf pack traversing a mountain valley together was recorded after snowfall in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, signaling ecological recovery.

Two striking black wolves, a seldom-seen color variation, stand out distinctly in the pack at the Tomur Peak National Nature Reserve in the Tianshan Mountains.

Conservationists said that the stable presence of a wolf pack is no coincidence. In recent years, the reserve has strengthened ecological protection, improving habitats and allowing wildlife populations to recover. As apex predators, wolves return only when prey species and the broader ecosystem are thriving -- clear evidence that Tomur's conservation efforts are paying off.