China's first cross-board ETF launched

China's first cross-board Exchange-Traded Fund, which targets the Nasdaq 100 Index, started to trade in the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Wednesday, providing a new channel for Chinese investors to participate in the United States capital market.

The ETF was launched by Guotai Asset Management Co Ltd. The transaction volume of the EFT's first trading day was more than 8.77 million shares, which indicates strong demand.

John Jacobs, vice CEO of Nasdaq OMX, said that other Chinese fund management companies may launch new products targeting Nasdaq indexes later.

The move is significant for the ETF market development in China, Jacobs said.

So far this year, funds invested into Chinese ETF products have increased 23.4 percent to $937.4 billion, according to BlackRock Inc, a global fund management company.

Besides cross-board ETF products, Chinese investors can also invest into overseas stock markets under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor scheme.