The formal implementation of the "Regulations for the Implementation of the Mineral Resources Law" has officially classified rare earths as "specific strategic mineral resources." This policy tailwind directly spurred active performance in the medium and heavy rare earth sector yesterday, simultaneously boosting market restocking sentiment. Among them, the prices of key dysprosium-based varieties rose significantly in sync. Data from the Changjiang Nonferrous Metals Network shows that the market quotation for Changjiang comprehensive metal dysprosium reached 1.7225 million yuan per ton, a daily increase of 50,000 yuan; the market average price of dysprosium oxide was reported at 1.405 million yuan per ton, a daily increase of 85,000 yuan, indicating a notable simultaneous uptick in the prices of these two mainstream products.
With this policy support, the value re-rating narrative for rare earths, as a crucial strategic raw material underpinning high-end manufacturing and national economic development, continues to unfold, potentially highlighting their medium- to long-term allocation value. Market activity for the first rare earth industry-themed ETF—the Rare Earth ETF Huatai-PineBridge (516780)—significantly rebounded yesterday, with a daily turnover of 313 million yuan, marking the highest trading volume since March 5th of this year. Its latest fund size reached 2.53 billion yuan, demonstrating a relatively prominent liquidity advantage.
Macro-Level Catalysts
From a macro perspective, the rare earth sector is currently experiencing resonance from multiple favorable factors both domestically and internationally. Regarding the external environment, the US and Iran reaching a ceasefire-related agreement has somewhat alleviated risk-off sentiment in the commodity market. Concurrently, market expectations for the Federal Reserve's continued interest rate hikes have cooled. A weakening US dollar is expected to create favorable conditions for a valuation recovery in non-ferrous metals. Domestically, the new version of the mineral resources regulations officially took effect on June 15th, bringing 36 categories including rare earths under the management scope of national strategic minerals. Industry-wide controls on total mining output and tighter export review standards have been implemented concurrently, forming a rigid constraint from the supply side.
Evolving Demand Drivers
The demand side is also undergoing iterative upgrades. The recovery of traditional manufacturing, coupled with the rapid expansion of emerging sectors like AI and new energy, is transforming the industry positioning of rare earths from the "industrial monosodium glutamate" of traditional manufacturing to the "computing power metal" supporting digital infrastructure. As a core dielectric material for MLCCs (multi-layer ceramic capacitors), the demand structure for rare earths is highly correlated with the prosperity of the downstream electronics industry. The current rapid advancement in AI computing power infrastructure construction is driving leapfrog growth in demand for high-end MLCCs. Combined with the capacity adjustments and product price increase trends among leading Japanese and Korean manufacturers, upstream rare earth raw material demand is poised to see sustained incremental space, with the long-term industry chain prosperity expected to continue rising.
About the Fund and Its Holdings
It is reported that the Rare Earth ETF Huatai-PineBridge (516780) closely tracks the CSI Rare Earth Industry Index, which selects securities of listed companies involved in businesses related to rare earth mining, processing, trade, and application as constituents, aiming to reflect the overall performance of listed companies in the rare earth industry. Its top five holdings are China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech Co., Ltd., Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd., Xiamen Tungsten Co., Ltd., China Rare Earth Holdings Limited, and GEM Co., Ltd., all of which are competitive leading enterprises within the industry.
The fund's 2025 annual report shows that as of December 31, 2025, the number of holders of the Rare Earth ETF Huatai-PineBridge (516780) reached 60.3 thousand, making it the only rare earth-themed ETF in the market with over 50 thousand holders during the same period.
Fund Manager's Expertise
As one of China's first ETF managers, Huatai-PineBridge Fund has been deeply engaged in the field of index investment for over 19 years, having created transparent, convenient-to-trade, and low-cost index tool products for investors such as the CSI 300 ETF Huatai-PineBridge (510300) and the A500 ETF Huatai-PineBridge (563360). As of the end of March 2026, the ETFs under the company had cumulatively generated profits exceeding 223.4 billion yuan for holders over the past two years, making it one of only three public fund companies in the entire A-share market to achieve cumulative profits exceeding 200 billion yuan during the same period.
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