Foreign investors pulled out of Chinese onshore stocks for a fourth straight month in November, extending a record exodus amid lack of conviction about the strength of recovery in the world’s second-largest economy.
Overseas traders offloaded a combined 1.78 billion yuan (US$250 million) of yuan-denominated stocks on mainland China’s bourses through the exchange link programme with Hong Kong, adding to the 127 billion yuan of net selling for the previous three months, according to Bloomberg data. The four months of outflows represent the longest such streak on record since the Shenzhen exchange was added to the cross-border investment scheme in December 2016.
The latest batch of economic data shows that China’s economic recovery is fragile and uneven. An official purchasing managers’ index indicated that the manufacturing industry shrank more than expected in November.
“Chinese stock trading by international investors is driven by macro [issues], and a lot of people have stopped looking at corporate earnings,” said Jian Shi Cortesi, investment director at GAM Investment in Switzerland, which had US$74 billion in assets under management as of the end of September.
“Imagine if I’m a pension fund in the West and I have so many things to cover. Would I spend five hours to try to figure out about the Chinese property market? Probably not. During the downside, people make a quick conclusion that China is risky and they just stay away.”
The CSI 300 Index of the largest mainland Chinese companies dropped 2.1 per cent for a fourth consecutive month of declines in November, taking its year-to-date loss to 9.7 per cent. Eight out of the 10 industry groups on the gauge recorded losses for the month, with raw material and industrial stocks falling at least 4.3 per cent for the worst performances.
While forthcoming economic data might show higher year-on-year growth rates in November, that is mainly because of a year-earlier lower base created by Covid-19 disruptions, according to Nomura Holdings. Real economic growth will probably decelerate through the year’s end and early 2024, which will push Beijing to provide funding to troubled property developers, said the Japanese brokerage.
MSCI China A-share gauge adds technology stocks, removes industrials
MSCI China A-share gauge adds technology stocks, removes industrials
“The outflow of foreign funds is a reflection of the lack of confidence in trading and the absence of a key investment theme that can underpin the market,” said Qi Yanran, an analyst at Everbright Securities in Beijing.