China and Asia are expected to lead the growth of exchange-traded fund markets in the next five years as the ETF markets continue to open amid an improving regulatory environment, a report said yesterday.

Twenty-five new ETFs were launched on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges last year, bringing the total number to 107, PricewaterhouseCoopers said in the report.

Assets under management were 253 billion yuan (US$41 billion) by the end of 2014, up 58 percent from a year earlier, the report said.

"A low fee structure and good liquidity attracted more investors and drove the growth of China's (FXI, quote) ETF market in 2014," said Alex Wong, PwC China Assets Management Leader. "Looking ahead, more domestic and overseas passive investors will use ETF for asset allocation."

Globally, total assets managed by ETFs are likely to at least double to US$5 trillion or more by 2020, PwC predicted.

Asset flows in the US and Europe will continue to dominate the ETF landscape, but the highest rates of growth will be found in less mature markets, particularly Asia, which currently only account for 7 percent of the global ETF assets, PwC said.

China last month allowed same-day trading of cross-border ETFs and listed open-ended funds. China also started a trial trading of equity options yesterday.

Content Curiosity of China.org.cn