New York, N.Y. January 27, 2021 – Krane Funds Advisors, LLC, (“KraneShares”), a global asset management firm known for its China-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and innovative China investment strategies, today announced the launch of the  KraneShares SSE STAR Market 50 Index ETF (Ticker: KSTR) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

KSTR tracks the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) Science and Technology Innovation Board 50 Index. The Index comprises the 50 largest securities listed on SSE Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market) as determined by market capitalization and liquidity.

As China has quickly become a world leader in innovation, the Shanghai Stock Exchange developed the STAR Market to promote China’s high growth publicly-listed science and technology companies. The STAR Market includes companies from industries such as new-generation information technology, biomedicine, new energy, and environmental protection.

Since its establishment in July 2019, the STAR Market has become one of the largest IPO markets globally and a premier listing venue for prominent Chinese “unicorns” – a privately held startup company with a value of over $1 billion. In just over a year, the STAR Market facilitated 200 companies to raise $44 billion.¹ The increase in fund-raising activity on Chinese exchanges last year is mainly attributable to new STAR Market listings, which accounted for 47% of capital raised across China’s Mainland A-Share market in 2020.²

“KSTR is the first ETF listed in the United States that offers investors direct access to STAR Market-listed companies,³” said Jonathan Krane, CEO of KraneShares. “KraneShares is privileged to work with SSE and NYSE to bring this unique investment opportunity to global investors. We believe KSTR represents companies that are China’s future leaders across industries powering the growth engine of China for decades to come.”

“The listing of the KraneShares SSE STAR Market 50 Index ETF (Ticker: KSTR) on the NYSE is the first SSE STAR Market-based ETF listed in overseas markets,” said Harry FU Hao, Managing Director of Global Business Development Department at the Shanghai Stock Exchange. “We are happy to work with the NYSE and Kraneshares to provide overseas investors access to the SSE STAR Market, where star companies from China’s high-tech industries and strategic emerging industries cluster."

“The NYSE is committed to bringing new investment opportunities to the public by expanding the ETF ecosystem,” said Douglas Yones, Head of Exchange Traded Products at the New York Stock Exchange. “Today’s launch of KSTR on NYSE Arca continues that mandate, giving investors access to China’s STAR Market for the first time.”

On November 12, 2020, Executive Order 13959 (“Executive Order”) was issued, prohibiting transactions by U.S. persons in certain Chinese issuers’ securities (“Subject Securities”), beginning on January 11, 2021. KSTR will fully comply with the Executive Order. While the underlying index for KSTR (the SSE Science and Technology Innovation Board 50 Index) includes Subject Securities, the KSTR portfolio has been optimized and will not include any Subject Securities.

For more information about KSTR, visit kraneshares.com/kstr, or talk to your financial advisor.

About KraneShares

Krane Funds Advisors, LLC is the investment manager for KraneShares ETFs. The firm is focused on providing investors with strategies to capture China’s importance as an essential element of a well-designed investment portfolio. KraneShares ETFs represent innovative, first-to-market strategies developed based on the firm and its partners’ in-depth knowledge of investing. These strategies allow investors to stay current on global market trends and provide meaningful diversification. Krane Funds Advisors, LLC is majority-owned by China International Capital Corporation (CICC).

1. CNBC, “China’s experimental stock board gains 200th IPO just over a year after launching”, December 6, 2020.
2. The Asset, “A bumper IPO year despite Covid-19”, December 14, 2020.
3. Data from Bloomberg, according to Bloomberg’s list of all US-listed China ETFs, retrieved 12/14/2020.