KB Asset Management Launches Korea's First 'Global Hydrogen Economy ETF'

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Junho] KB Asset Management listed the 'KBSTAR Global Hydrogen Economy Indxx Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)' on the 15th. This product is the first in Korea to invest in global hydrogen economy companies.

Through this product, KB Asset Management has completed its hydrogen economy investment lineup. In February last year, it launched the industry's first 'KB Global Hydrogen Economy Fund.' In October, it listed the 'KBSTAR fn Hydrogen Economy Theme ETF,' which invests in domestic companies.

This product tracks the 'Indxx Hydrogen Economy Index' by the US index provider INDXX as its underlying index and includes the top 30 global companies in the hydrogen value chain industry. As of the end of last month, the index includes sectors such as hydrogen fuel cells and batteries (37.2%), hydrogen production and power generation (38.4%), hydrogen storage and supply (13.6%), and hydrogen systems and solutions (10.7%). The country weightings are the United States (38.1%), Japan (22.1%), France (12.4%), Korea (7.0%), and the United Kingdom (6.2%). Representative index components include Air Liquide (10.7%), Bloom Energy (7.1%), and Plug Power (6.8%), along with Ballard Power Systems and Linde.

Yook Dong-hwi, Head of ETF Consulting at KB Asset Management, said, "The hydrogen production market size was about 100 million tons in 2020, which is about 2% of the fossil fuel energy market, but it is expected to expand to 10% by 2050." He added, "Recently, the private sector has shown active movements, and long-term high growth potential can be expected."

Meanwhile, KB Asset Management continues a two-track strategy by lowering fees for flagship index ETFs to the industry's lowest and quickly launching thematic ETFs.