Where to start
As recent overseas macroeconomic pressures ease, trading activity in major non-ferrous metals has increased, with the rare earth industry chain performing notably well and drawing growing market attention. The market's first rare earth industry theme ETF, the Rare Earth ETF Huatai-PineBridge (516780) , saw net capital inflows of 232 million yuan in the month from July 14 to August 14. The product's latest scale stands at 2.185 billion yuan, with its latest share count reaching 2.477 billion. Over the past month, share growth exceeded 10%, and the fund boasts advantages in both scale and liquidity.
The accelerated development of the humanoid robot industry is becoming a key variable reshaping the demand logic for rare earth permanent magnets. According to data from market research firm SAG, cited by Bloomberg on August 10, China has achieved a commanding shipment advantage in the global humanoid robot market. In the first half of 2026, Chinese humanoid robot manufacturers accounted for over 97% of global shipments. A more critical signal is that the share of industrial and commercial applications surged from 50% a year ago to over 70%. Each humanoid robot requires dozens of high-precision joint motors, each reliant on high-performance neodymium-iron-boron magnets. As global leading companies push toward mass production, this could create a vast new incremental market, building a second growth curve for the rare earth permanent magnet industry.
Data shows that in July, the price of praseodymium neodymium oxide rose 6.4% month-on-month, ranking among the top 50 bulk commodities monitored by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. The resilience of raw material prices is expected to boost the operating income of rare earth industry chain companies. Among listed rare earth firms that have already disclosed semi-annual reports or performance forecasts for the first half of 2026, several have achieved earnings growth. Leading companies with resource reserves and industry chain integration capabilities are likely to see continued improvement in their business outlook.
Why just 10 ASX 200 shares?
On the supply side, tight constraints and expanding demand from downstream emerging industries are expected to jointly catalyze opportunities in the rare earth industry chain. Rare earths are subject to rigid total volume controls, with the industry's supply-demand dynamics continuously improving. The state imposes annual total volume limits on rare earth mining and smelting and separation, with mining rights approval authority centralized at the national level. New mining capacity is strictly controlled, and heavy rare earth quotas remain low for an extended period, strengthening the scarcity of raw materials. On the demand side, emerging sectors such as new energy, humanoid robots, and industrial motors are poised for structural growth, driving technological iterations in magnetic materials and broadening the growth boundaries of the rare earth industry.
It is reported that the Rare Earth ETF Huatai-PineBridge (516780) closely tracks the CSI Rare Earth Industry Index, which selects listed companies involved in rare earth mining, processing, trading, and application as samples to reflect the overall performance of rare earth industry listed companies. Its top five constituent stocks are Northern Rare Earth, Baotou Steel Union, Aluminum Corporation of China, China Rare Earth Resources and Technology, and GEM Co., Ltd., all of which are competitive leading enterprises in the industry. Investors can leverage the Rare Earth ETF Huatai-PineBridge (516780) to capitalize on the revaluation opportunities driven by the dual engines of rare earth's upgraded strategic importance in great power competition and tightening supply-demand fundamentals.
As of December 31, 2025, the annual product report for 2025 showed that the Rare Earth ETF Huatai-PineBridge (516780) had 60,300 holder accounts, making it the only rare earth-themed ETF in the entire market with over 50,000 holder accounts during that period. The manager of the Rare Earth ETF Huatai-PineBridge (516780) and its linked funds (Class A 014331, Class C 014332), Huatai-PineBridge Fund, is one of China's first ETF managers, with over 19 years of deep experience in index investing. It has provided investors with transparent, easily tradable, and low-cost index tools such as the CSI 300 ETF Huatai-PineBridge (510300) and the A500 ETF Huatai-PineBridge (563360). As of June 30, 2026, the company's ETFs had accumulated over 180.6 billion yuan in profits for holders over the past two years, making it one of only three public fund companies in the A-share market to achieve cumulative profits exceeding 160 billion yuan during that period.
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