iShares Plans Another China ETF

BlackRock's

iShares business, the largest U.S. ETF issuer by assets, has filed plans to introduce another China-specific ETF in an effort to bolster its control over an ETF niche it already dominates with the iShares/FTSE Xinhua China 25 Index Fund

. While iShares didn't release a ticker or an expense ratio for the new fund, the ETF is expected to track China's H-Shares which are companies based in China whose shares are denominated in Hong Kong dollars and the country's B-Shares. The Underlying Index also includes select Hong Kong-listed Red Chips and P-Chips (issued by companies controlled by individuals in the People's Republic of China and deriving substantial revenues or allocating substantial assets in the China, according to ETFdb.com. As of December 20, 2010, the Underlying Index had 140 constituents, approximately 55% of which were H-Shares, 24% were Red Chips, 20% were P-Chips and 1% were B-Shares, ETFdb, reported. The index's largest sector weights are financials, energy and telecom. There are close to 20 China-specific ETFs with almost $13 billion in assets under management listed in the U.S.