For the latest ETF industry news, please refer to our “Asia ETF Roundup (Industry) – August 2020”.

Major Markets Performance

U.S.-China tensions resurfaced in the headlines in August. The U.S. announced it would ban Tik Tok, a short-form video app, if ownership doesn’t change hands within weeks. However, the sale hit some roadblocks in early September and the U.S. threatened to ban more Chinese apps, all based on national security concerns. On the other side of the Chinese border, the China-India border dispute heightened. In early September, India banned another 118 Chinese apps, including Baidu and Alipay. The Indian government first banned 59 apps, including Tik Tok and WeChat, in June. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, announced his resignation, citing health reasons.