Rare protests rippling across China over Beijing’s zero-COVID-19 policy may have unleashed a fresh wave of political uncertainty but could also hasten the reopening of the world’s number two economy, foreign investors said on Monday.
Chinese bond portfolios have posted outflows every month since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, totaling $105.1 billion over nine months, according to data from the Institute of International Finance . Chinese stock portfolios lost $7.6 billion in October alone, the most since March.
Demographics have been a major pressure point for China, which has seen youth unemployment hit a record high of around 20% in July. Richard Tang, equity research analyst for Asia at Julius Baer, said offshore investors were more worried about recent events than their onshore peers, potentially lifting onshore equity markets.
Others were more cautious. Social discontent stemming from the zero-COVID policy added to risks in executing and implementing government policies, said Mark Haefele, global wealth management CIO at UBS in Zurich.
I can't believe we're still talking about covid...