Foreign investors have barely begun buying back beaten-down stocks in China, but there are growing signs that the end of the country’s tough COVID-zero policy marks the beginning of a long global march back into Chinese equities.
Shifts in tones at big banks suggest they are warming up to Chinese equities, especially as the strong returns so far and the fear of missing out on more gains start to apply pressure. Analysts with brokerage China International Capital Corp said short-interest in Hong Kong stocks dropped from about 24.5% in early October to 13.3% in late December, and that net outflows from overseas active funds showed they have not driven the recent rally - something it expects will reverse in the year ahead.
Laura Wang, chief China equity strategist with the firm, said foreign funds had been making some additions to large cap names including Alibaba Group Holding since last quarter.