of 40 per cent, while over the same period the MSCI World Index was up 20 per cent.if there’s a bargain to be hadThe fabled China growth miracle hit a couple of huge speed bumps in the form of COVID-19 and a serious shakeout in the property sector.In the six years to the end of 2019, China’s annualised GDP growth rate declined in a very smooth, if not controlled, path from a ridiculously high 7.5 per cent to a still astonishing 5.8 per cent. Then COVID-19 wreaked havoc.
Recent data showed housing starts in China fell 30 per cent year-on-year and completions were down 20 per cent, while sales dropped 21 per cent and property values got crunched by 29 per cent. Similarly, solar battery production has risen more than threefold, and it accounts for more than 80 per cent of global solar cell exports and 50 per cent of lithium batteries.