In June this year, the Hong Kong stock exchange unveiled a new exchange traded fund that offered investors direct exposure to an asset in mainland China. And the asset in question was another ETF.

The Hong Kong product invests directly in an equivalent product listed on the Shanghai stock exchange, taking advantage of a so-called “cross-listing” structure to invest in stocks related to China’s photovoltaic sector — which focuses on the conversion of light to energy.

The fund’s launch, which Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s chief executive Nicolas Aguzin called “an important step forward in the development of cross-border ETFs”, forms part of a much wider expansion of Hong Kong’s role in mainland financial markets that has given investors in the territory increased access to China’s tightly controlled stock and bond markets.