Hang Seng scraps industry limits, expands TECH Index to 50

Sub-themes also jump to 24 from 16 under the overhaul.

Hang Seng Indexes will implement six changes to its TECH Index methodology, expanding technology coverage and adopting a two-stream constituent selection mechanism following a market consultation.

The company launched a month-long consultation in August, gathering feedback from industry stakeholders in Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland, and other markets.

The changes will remove industry restrictions, allowing eligible companies beyond the five industries under the Hang Seng Industry Classification System to qualify, Hang Seng said.

Six technology themes will be adopted, including digital platforms and solutions, artificial intelligence, advanced hardware, robotics and automation, cloud, and the newly added frontier technologies.

Sub-themes will also increase to 24 from 16.

For the new two-stream selection mechanism, the eligible universe will be narrowed to constituents of the Hang Seng Composite LargeCap and MidCap Index.

Selection will follow two streams based on market capitalisation and 12-month sales growth rankings.

Hang Seng said non-constituents must have an average daily turnover of at least $100m over the preceding three months.

Companies selected through the sales growth stream must also record annual sales of at least $500m in each of the two most recent consecutive financial years.

The number of TECH Index constituents will rise to 50 from 30, with 40 selected by market capitalisation and the remaining 10 by sales growth.

The changes will take effect in the December 2026 index rebalancing.