December Investment Review: Recent Highlights of ETFs and Growth Momentum Analysis

[For Hong Kong investors only] This article highlights the top-performing products in the Global X ETF over the past three months. As of the end of November, among China-themed products, the Global X China Clean Energy ETF (2809), Global X China Electric Vehicle & Battery ETF (2845), and Global X Hang Seng High Dividend Yield ETF (3110) led the market; among global thematic products, the Global X Asia Semiconductor ETF (3119) outperformed; and in global thematic products, the Global X Electric Vehicle & Humanoid Robotics Active ETF (3139) and Global X Innovation Blue-Chip Top 10 ETF (3422) stood out. The article will delve into the core drivers behind their recent growth.

Best-Performing China-Themed Products

The Global X China Clean Energy ETF (2809)$GX CN CLN EN(02809.HK) provides diversified exposure to the broad clean energy industry, covering photovoltaics, wind, hydropower, power, and grid equipment. The ETF is expected to benefit from improved sentiment in China's solar industry under the "anti-involution" campaign and will continue to gain from the ongoing green energy transition trend in the long term.

Chinese policymakers are intensifying efforts to curb "involution," which refers to excessive competition leading to diminishing returns, often accompanied by aggressive pricing and overcapacity. Since the "Symposium on Promoting High-Quality Development of New Energy" on July 1, policy momentum has accelerated, with key industry regulators such as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the State Administration for Market Regulation issuing high-level guidance. The July Politburo meeting reaffirmed the priority of this initiative. Although still in its early stages, the "anti-involution" campaign will drive regulation of low-price competition and facilitate the elimination of outdated capacity, thereby accelerating the recovery of polysilicon prices and the inflection point in profitability for major solar companies.

In September, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced China's 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target, explicitly committing to expanding wind and solar installed capacity to 3,600GW, more than six times the 2020 level. This implies an average annual installed capacity of at least 200GW for solar and wind over the next decade. Achieving this goal will also require robust and parallel development of energy storage and grid infrastructure. We expect energy storage to become an essential complement to managing the intermittency of renewable energy, while large-scale grid expansion—including ultra-high-voltage transmission and smart grid upgrades—will be a fundamental requirement.

The Global X China Electric Vehicle & Battery ETF (2845)$GX CN EV BATT(02845.HK) invests in key companies across the entire EV and battery value chain, covering vehicle manufacturing, battery production, battery components, auto parts, and lithium companies. Additionally, many of the ETF's constituent companies are involved in AI-related themes such as humanoid robotics and autonomous driving.

We believe China's EV sales may accelerate in the traditional peak season of Q4, while battery demand remains robust, and battery material costs stay low. According to data from the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance and Mirae Asset Group in September 2025, EV battery installations grew 32% YoY and 12% QoQ to 62.5GWh; energy storage battery sales remained high at 35.6GWh, up 49% YoY. Battery material prices have fallen more than 80% from their 2022 peak (Goldman Sachs, October 2025), continuing to support cost optimization for battery manufacturers and EV producers.

The Global X Hang Seng High Dividend Yield ETF (3110)$GX HS HIGH DIV(03110.HK) invests in 50 Hong Kong stocks screened and weighted by dividend yield. This defensive ETF, with its attractive dividend yield (6.3% as of August 2025; annualized dividend yield calculation: dividends per share in March and September 2025 divided by NAV per unit as of August 29, 2025), low valuation, and focus on domestic-demand sectors, is expected to provide investors with more stable returns amid current market volatility.

Since October 2025, the high-dividend strategy has outperformed the broader market, with the Hang Seng High Dividend Yield Index delivering a total return of +5.4%, while the Hang Seng Index$Hang Seng Index(00HSI.HK) and Hang Seng Tech Index$Hang Seng TECH Index(STECH.HK) returned -3.3% and -10.0%, respectively (statistics from September 30 to November 4). Year-to-date, China and Hong Kong stocks have performed well, driven by tech leaders, but recent factors—such as renewed U.S.-China trade tensions, profit-taking by investors, central government meetings, and the start of the Q3 2025 earnings season—have pushed the Hong Kong/A-share markets into a consolidation phase. Against heightened volatility, more investors are shifting from growth/tech sectors to value/dividend sectors. Although the late-October U.S.-China trade talks yielded positive results, reducing trade policy uncertainty, the ongoing U.S. government shutdown is draining market liquidity, triggering a global risk-asset sell-off in early November. The high-dividend strategy offers investors a more stable option to navigate current market volatility.

Beyond recent shifts in investor preferences, we believe the high-dividend strategy in Hong Kong/A-share markets holds significant long-term investment value. Fundamentally, Chinese listed companies—with ample cash positions, strong free cash flow, and currently low payout ratios (30%+)—are well-positioned to enhance shareholder returns. This theme is also supported by policies such as the "Nine Guidelines" in April 2024 and the central bank's "Stock Buyback Relending Fund" in September 2024. From a capital flow perspective, the high-dividend strategy combines high yield with low volatility, aligning well with insurers' allocation needs. Against persistently low deposit and bond yields in China, the strategy is likely to continue attracting insurance capital in the long run. Similarly, Chinese household savings seeking higher returns in a low-rate environment may gradually increase allocations to high-dividend equity products.

Best-Performing Global-Themed Products

The Global X Asia Semiconductor ETF (3119)$GX ASIA SEMICON(03119.HK) provides investment opportunities across the entire semiconductor value chain in China. The product targets companies engaged in semiconductor production in China, including those involved in integrated circuit design (fabless), manufacturing (foundries), packaging and testing (OSAT), and semiconductor production equipment (SPE).

Asia has established itself as the undisputed center of the global semiconductor ecosystem, particularly in AI-enabled sectors. The AI boom has spurred massive hardware investments, where Asia holds a significant advantage. Industry leaders like TSMC$Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US), the backbone of global chip manufacturing, and SK Hynix, a key memory supplier, are major contributors to this growth. While U.S. hyperscale data center operators are undoubtedly driving global AI capex, Asian countries like China have also ramped up AI investments, betting on localization to boost domestic semiconductor industries.

South Korea: South Korean semiconductor stocks have also surged this year, driven primarily by a memory "super cycle"—where AI-grade memory upgrades are absorbing significant supply, creating shortages. South Korean semiconductor stocks are highly correlated with the memory industry, with Samsung and SK Hynix being the world's top two memory suppliers. First, demand for HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) used in AI chips is growing rapidly, while bit density in next-gen AI platforms continues to rise. HBM chips have larger die sizes and lower per-wafer yields, meaning they consume more wafer capacity (i.e., DRAM output), tightening DRAM supply and supporting prices. Second, top memory makers plan to phase out DDR4 quickly, but many products like smartphones still rely on it, creating a supply-demand mismatch that has driven DDR4 prices up this year. Third, cautious NAND supply strategies and hyperscalers' demand for eSSDs have supported NAND prices.

China: China's semiconductor self-sufficiency trend is accelerating and deepening. We observe a significant gap between domestic cloud providers' AI capex and local chipmakers' revenue. As Nvidia's inventory gradually declines, this signals substantial growth potential for domestic AI chips. For example, Cambricon$Cambricon(688256.SH), a leading domestic AI chipmaker, is expected to achieve over 400% revenue growth in 2025.

The Global X Electric Vehicle & Humanoid Robotics Active ETF (3139)$A GX EV ROBOT(03139.HK): 2025 is seen as a breakout year for humanoid robots, with major breakthroughs in practical, affordable products and visible mass production. Elon Musk's$Tesla(TSLA.US) optimistic early-2025 shipment forecasts for humanoid robots, combined with Unitree robots' dance performance at the Spring Festival Gala, have spotlighted China's robotics supply chain. Discussions with supply chain firms indicate the industry is moving toward lightweight, flexible, and easily deployable robots that improve operational efficiency and reduce costs. Competition in key components like reducers, motors, lead screws, and sensors appears to be intensifying, suggesting costs may fall faster than expected, with clearer prospects for monetization—especially in industrial and residential applications. (Mirae Asset, September 2025)

The Global X Innovation Blue-Chip Top 10 ETF (3422)$GX INNO TOP 10(03422.HK) invests in leading companies driving disruptive tech waves across industries, designed for investors seeking exposure to evolving innovation sectors. Global X, with its strong research team and expertise in disruptive tech, is a pioneer in ETFs focused on this emerging space.

Google recently announced Gemini 3 Pro, integrating deep reasoning tools and generative UI features, highlighting its AI competitiveness. The model is trained on Google's$Alphabet - C(GOOG.US) proprietary TPUs, with the Ironwood TPU—designed for the "era of inference"—now fully available. Despite higher spending, Alphabet$Alphabet(GOOGL.US) expanded Q3 pre-tax margins by 7 percentage points, driving 39% YoY pre-tax profit growth.

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