S&P offers Asian thematics

Index provider Standard & Poor’s has launched three new thematic indexes for Asian markets: the S&P Asia Infrastructure, Water, and Alternative Energy indexes. The indexes launched are the first in the Asian Thematic Index Series and are designed to underlie financial instruments such as ETFs and structured products.

The series comprises the largest companies from seven developed and emerging Asian markets including China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Companies selected for inclusion in the indexes must have a total market capitalisation above US$250 million and a three-month average daily traded value of at least US$3 million. No single stock can account for more than 10% of the index.

The infrastructure index comprises 30 stocks spread over three clusters: energy