Value Partners Group Limited has launched what it says is the world's first actively managed exchange-traded fund dedicated to the printed circuit board ( PCB ) ecosystem.
Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange ( 02813.HK ), the Value Partners Printed Circuit Board Active ETF is open for subscription starting Thursday ( October 15 ) at an initial offering price of HK$15 ( US$1.91 ) per unit. With a trading lot size of 100 units, the minimum investment is approximately HK$1,500.
The fund actively invests across the PCB supply chain in Asia and globally, focusing on companies with leading technologies, manufacturing capabilities, and pricing power. It aims to achieve long-term capital appreciation by investing in upstream basic materials, midstream core substrates, downstream advanced manufacturing, and related equipment that support the increasingly sophisticated circuit board specifications required by artificial intelligence ( AI ) servers.
PCBs serve as the "nervous system" of electronic devices, connecting AI chips with memory, power supplies and networking components. As demand for AI computing power continues to rise, increasing chip shipments are driving robust demand for PCBs.
Meanwhile, AI computing systems are evolving from standalone accelerator cards to rack-scale architectures, significantly increasing requirements for transmission speed, layer counts and manufacturing precision of PCBs. These technological advancements have raised barriers to entry while driving higher unit prices.
Across successive GPU generations, PCB value per chip has increased from approximately US$220 in the Hopper generation to about US$2,100 in the Rubin Ultra generation. Indeed, Value Partners says, AI hardware upgrades are creating a long-term industry trend characterized by simultaneous growth in both PCB volumes and price.
Pricing power
Today, the PCB supply chain remains highly concentrated in Asia. Tight capacity across multiple segments of the value chain continues to support strong pricing power for industry leaders with advanced manufacturing capabilities.
This supply-demand imbalance, driven by ongoing technological innovation and upgrades, is expected to persist through 2027 and beyond. As a result, leading PCB companies may benefit from expanding profit margins, while the current environment presents a timely opportunity for investors to gain exposure to the sector.
Compared with passive index products, an actively managed ETF can dynamically adjust holdings in response to technological developments, customer concentration trends and newly listed companies.
The fund seeks to identify high-quality companies and capture long-term growth opportunities arising from the expansion of AI infrastructure.
"As the world's first actively managed ETF focused on the PCB ecosystem, the fund reflects Value Partners' commitment to identifying investment themes with long-term growth potential that remain underrepresented in the market,” says Alex Chiu, senior strategist, ETF business, at Value Partners.
“It also represents an important extension of our forward-looking AI investment strategy. Following the launch of our Optical Communication Active ETF, we are further expanding our offering across the PCB value chain, providing investors with broader access to AI infrastructure investment opportunities."
