国际投资者追逐中国股票
China’s increased importance and influence in the global economy has been accompanied by rising demand from international investors for the nation’s equities. China’s stock markets have grown into the world’s second-largest equity pool in less than three decades, overtaking both the UK and Japan. The first public trading of Chinese equities began in December 1990, with eight companies listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The opening of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange followed in July 1991. There are now more than 3,000 companies listed on the two exchanges, with a combined market capitalisation exceeding $8.7tn, up from less than $2tn at end of 2006. Beijing has limited foreign ownership of the mainland China A-shares market but policymakers are gradually relaxing these restrictions. International investors and managers from certain jurisdictions are allowed access to the mainland China A-shares market via the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor or the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor schemes, which have both expanded significantly since their launch in 2002 and 2011 respectively. Equity trading flows have also been stimulated by the two Connect programmes that link Shanghai and Shenzhen with Hong Kong. China’s top regulators unveiled far-reaching reforms for the asset management industry in November in a push to defuse the risks accumulating across the country’s financial system. The reforms are designed to improve standards of investor protection and to set the asset management industry on a sustainable growth path following huge increases in debt and leverage that threaten the sustainability of the Chinese economy. Driving money out of the shadow banking sector into regulated asset management products should provide a further boost to the equity market. |