The China Tracker follows the MSCI China IndexSM and offers investors a cost-effective means to gain exposure to China and will trade like a stock under code 2801. Several local brokers will be supporting the launch of the China Tracker by offering commission-free purchases of the fund from 28th November through Friday, 7th December.

The brokers include Boom.com, CASH Financial Services Group, Core Pacific-Yamaichi International (HK) Limited, Hutchison CSFBdirect, KGI Asia Limited, SCTRADE.COM Limited and Tai Fook Securities Group.

BGI states that iShares are index tracking funds that are bought and sold like stocks on stock exchanges. They are attractive to many individual and institutional investors and financial intermediaries because of their relatively low cost and trading flexibility, and because iShares can be traded like stocks, they offer intraday liquidity.

In a statement from BGI, Joseph Ho, the firm's regional director for North Asia, said: 'The China Tracker will offer investors a very affordable way to gain exposure to China in a single transaction. The minimum investment will be just one board lot [200 units], which, subject to market fluctuations, will cost around HK$3,500.'

'Additionally, we believe the timing is right,' he continued. 'From a global perspective, China remains one of the few economies that is expected to register positive growth both this year and next. More importantly, China's entry into the WTO will improve its overall trade position globally and trigger a fundamental restructuring of the economic system.'

Henry Fernandez, President and CEO of MSCI added: 'We are pleased that BGI has launched an ETF based on the MSCI China Index. This index reflects the China equity markets from the perspective of non-domestic Chinese investors and is therefore ideal for tracking these markets.'