Advertisement 4Global investors betting on China were particularly interested in tech stocks in recent years, as the country churned out global leaders in areas like e-commerce, telecommunications, social media and fintech. Tech companies, however, have been disproportionately affected by efforts to curb monopolistic practices and improve user privacy and cybersecurity.
BCI’s Chinese stocks declined 80 per cent, from US$404 million to under US$78 million, with the firm selling about 73 per cent of its shares from U.S. exchanges that it owned a year earlier. Alberta Investment Management Corporation and Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan each increased their number of Chinese shares in the U.S. between July 2021 and July 2022. HOOPP in particular broadened its exposure to several companies, buying about US$60 million worth of shares in private education firm New Oriental and US$32 million in internet-services firm Baidu. Still, the total value of the two pension funds’ Chinese shares declined year-over-year.
Other large international investors have been selling Chinese assets. Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway has trimmed its stake in the country’s largest electric vehicle-maker BYD over the past month, while Japanese holding company Softbank sold most of its stake in. Earlier this month, South African internet group Naspers moved US$7.