Recent developments indicate a tightening supply-demand balance within the rare earth sector, with industry sentiment continuing to improve. This has driven prices of core rare earth categories, such as praseodymium-neodymium oxide, dysprosium oxide, and terbium oxide, to fluctuate with an upward trend, leading to a general recovery in the sector. Market capital is consequently flowing into high-quality investment targets. Among these, the first rare earth-themed ETF in the A-share market, Rare Earth ETF Huatai-PineBridge (516780), has become a key instrument for deploying capital into the sector, demonstrating significant capital attraction. Over the last seven trading sessions (April 16, 2026, to April 24, 2026), it achieved a cumulative net inflow of 127 million yuan, with market attention steadily increasing.
Observing the global competition for strategic resources, rare earths are indispensable key strategic minerals for sectors like new energy, high-end manufacturing, and defense. Intensifying competition within the global supply chain is evident. Recent international maneuvers, such as the signing of a memorandum of cooperation on critical minerals between the US and Europe, and a US investment of $2.8 billion to acquire a Brazilian rare earth enterprise, aim to accelerate the development of domestic and overseas rare earth resources, attempting to counterbalance China's industrial advantages. However, from an industrial perspective, achieving a significant breakthrough outside of China in the short term may prove challenging.
An authoritative report from the International Energy Agency points out that even when considering all planned and under-construction new capacity projects globally, by 2035, regions outside of China may only meet approximately 50% of global rare earth mining demand and 25% of refining and processing demand. The proportion of high-end permanent magnet material production capacity is even less than 20%. Leveraging long-accumulated technological barriers, a complete industrial system, and mature production capacity, China firmly controls the core segments of the global rare earth industry chain. China currently dominates approximately 60% of global rare earth mining, 90% of refining, and 90% of magnet production, with its share in heavy rare earth refining reaching as high as 99.9%.
Therefore, the advantages of China's rare earth industry chain are difficult to replicate or replace in the short term. As the visit of the US President to China for negotiations approaches in May, the recognition of rare earths' value as a critical strategic resource is increasing. Their scarcity and strategic attributes are expected to undergo a market revaluation, further solidifying the medium to long-term growth rationale for the sector.
It is reported that the CSI Rare Earth Industry Index, which Rare Earth ETF Huatai-PineBridge (516780) closely tracks, selects listed company securities involved in businesses related to rare earth mining, processing, trading, and application as its components, aiming to reflect the overall performance of listed companies in the rare earth industry. Its top five constituent stocks are China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech Co., Ltd., Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd., Xiamen Tungsten Co., Ltd., China Rare Earth Resources And Technology Co.,Ltd., and GEM Co., Ltd., all of which are competitive leading enterprises within the industry.
According to the product's annual report for 2025, as of December 31, 2025, the number of holders of Rare Earth ETF Huatai-PineBridge (516780) reached 60,300, making it the only rare earth-themed ETF in the market at that time with over 50,000 holders.
Huatai-PineBridge Fund, the manager of Rare Earth ETF Huatai-PineBridge (516780) and its feeder funds (Class A 014331, Class C 014332), is one of China's first ETF managers. With over 19 years of experience in index investment, it has created transparent, easily tradable, and low-cost index tools for investors, such as CSI 300 ETF Huatai-PineBridge (510300) and A500 ETF Huatai-PineBridge (563360). As of the end of 2025, the ETFs managed by the company had cumulatively generated profits exceeding 164 billion yuan for holders over the preceding two years, making it one of only four fund companies in the entire market to achieve cumulative profits over one hundred billion during that period. Regarding fees, ETFs representing 77.8% of the company's assets under management adopt the lowest tier fee structure currently available in the market for equity index funds (management fee 0.15% per annum + custody fee 0.05% per annum).
A MACD golden cross signal has formed, indicating positive momentum for some stocks.
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