Hang Seng Index Company: The launch of the Hang Seng Biotechnology Index Futures is conducive to building a comprehensive product ecosystem.

Hang Seng Index Company announced on its website that on November 28, 2025, HKEX officially launched the Hang Seng Biotechnology Index Futures, marking another milestone since the launch of the Hang Seng Biotechnology Index, creating an ecosystem covering exchange-traded products (ETPs), index funds, and derivative products such as futures. With the maturity of the product ecosystem around the index, it is believed that the market structure will become more perfect. Launched in December 2019, the Hang Seng Biotechnology Index aims to reflect the overall performance of biotechnology companies listed in Hong Kong and eligible for the Stock Connect, including companies listed under Chapter 18A of the listing rules. The Hang Seng Biotechnology Index consists of 30 constituent stocks from four business subcategories: 1. Pharmaceuticals; 2. Biotechnology; 3. Pharmaceutical distribution; 4. Medical devices and supplies. As of December 5, 2025, biotechnology accounts for 50% of the index weight, while pharmaceuticals account for 40%. Over the past 12 months, the Hang Seng Biotechnology Index has risen by 76.8%, outperforming the Hang Seng Composite Index (+36.8%) by 40.0 percentage points. From the beginning of the year to December 5, the Hang Seng Biotechnology Index has risen by 80.4%, outperforming the Hang Seng Composite Index (+33.8%) by 46.6 percentage points. The Hang Seng Biotechnology Index has shown better performance than the Hang Seng Composite Index over the past year, mainly due to policy support from the mainland and the continuous improvement of the global market position of Chinese biotechnology companies. The explosive growth of outbound licensing transactions (authorizing another organization to produce and/or distribute drugs) reflects the increasing importance of Chinese biotechnology companies. In 2019, the amount of outbound licensing transactions for Chinese pharmaceutical companies was less than $100 million, but by 2024, it had significantly increased to $52 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 249%. Looking back at the Hong Kong index futures market before the launch of the Hang Seng Biotechnology Index Futures, HKEX has launched futures contracts based on the three flagship indices of the Hang Seng Index Company: 1. Hang Seng Index ("HSI"); 2. Hang Seng H-Share Index ETF Index ("HSI H-Share"); 3. Hang Seng Tech Index ("HSTECH"). After HKEX launches futures contracts based on the indices of the Hang Seng Index Company, it generally follows by launching options contracts on the same index. For example, HKEX launched futures contracts on the HSI in December 2003, followed by options contracts in June 2004. The situation is similar for HSTECH, as HKEX launched futures contracts in November 2020, followed by options contracts in January 2021. It is worth noting that from the launch of the Hang Seng Biotechnology Index until December 5, 2025, the average daily volume (ADV) was 130 contracts over six trading days. The ADV for HSTECH futures in its first year of launch in 2020 was around 1,800 contracts. In 2003, the ADV for HSI H-Share futures was around 3,200 contracts in the first year. According to historical data, as the product ecosystem around the index matures, trading in the futures market will become more active.