Credit Suisse Group (CS) said ETF growth is increasing program trading in Asia, Reuters reports. Though overall volumes on stock exchanges have largely remained low, program trading activity has grown because of a steady rise in assets being allocated to emerging markets, particularly by passive investors through index-tracking funds and ETFs.

BlackRock said assets under management in Asia ex-Japan ETFs increased to $61.2 billion by the end of June, a 15 percent increase since the start of the year, compared with a 10 percent rise across the globe. Though ETFs comprise less than 2 percent of the region’s daily market activity, they are set to expand because of considerable creation and redemption activity and portfolio positioning.

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