Of more than 1,200 listed companies that can trade under the Stock Connect program linking the bourses in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen, 65% have said they will increase their Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) business in the next three years, according to an index launched by a joint venture between the stock exchanges. The China Exchanges Services Belt and Road Index (CES OBOR) is the first index tracking listed companies that are taking part in the BRI, said Mao Zhirong, Chief Executive of China Exchanges Services Company (CESC), a joint venture set up by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

With a base value of 2,000, the CES OBOR is an equal-weight index and will be reviewed annually.We want to compile an index for investors to capture investment opportunities brought by the BRI, and for companies to gain better knowledge about their peers’ progress under the program,” Mao said in Hong Kong. The CES OBOR, denominated in yuan, will reflect the stock price performance of 100 listed companies in Hong Kong and mainland China that are actively taking part in the BRI. It will use six indicators to gauge their participation – contracts, investments, sales, purchases, financing and insurance. To compile the index, CESC collected information from the more than 1,200 listed companies trading under the Stock Connect program, and released a report with its findings. The number and value of infrastructure companies in the initiative has increased s harply, with the sector looking set to replace energy enterprises as the new driver of the plan.

Consumer, information technology, medical and health-care companies had also increased their participation in the initiative, according to the report. Another key finding was that China’s state banks were seeking overseas financial influence by increasing support to the BRI. “Funds and loans acquired by listed companies in Belt and Road countries were mainly from offshore commercial lenders, but mainland commercial banks are fast catching up,” the report said. Private enterprises have also become more active in the BRI – their numbers and the value of new projects both doubled during the three-year period from 2014 to 2016.