China Stock Market Guide

There is unprecedented interest in China's stock markets. This is not surprising given the astonishing growth rate of China's economy in recent years. Our aim at tyzc.org is to help educate readers about different ways to benefit financially from China's economic growth and how to avoid some of the pitfalls.

Here are some basic facts:
  • China's largest stock market is the Hong Kong Stock Exchange - measured by The Hang Seng Index (HSI).
  • Mainland China's principle stock market, The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE,) has been operating since 1990.
  • Over 1,100 securities - stocks and bonds - trade on the SSE. The split between stocks and bonds is approximately 900 stocks to 200 bonds.
  • There are three classes of Chinese shares:
    • A shares, to which foreign investors have very limited access.
    • B shares, which are tradeable by everyone.
    • H shares, which are traded in Hong Kong.
  • Between the start of 2006 and mid-2007, Chinese stocks have almost quadrupled in value, making Shanghai the world's best performing stock exchange.
  • In 2007, the total market value of the stocks listed on Mainland China's principle stock market reached one trillion US dollars for the first time.
  • In May 2007, the number of trading accounts in China passed 100 million for the first time.
  • Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing, and US federal reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, have been expressing concerns that a bubble has formed in China's stock markets.
  • Exposure to Chinese stocks - in particular the SSE - can represent a significant diversification for Western investors because rises and falls in Chinese markets are not closely correlated with those in the West. This distinguishes the Chinese markets from, say, the American and British stock exchanges whose indices - the Dow and the FTSE 100 tend to rise and fall together.
  • Mainland China's stock exchanges - as of mid 2007 - made up about seven percent of the world's stock market value.

Performance of
SSE v Dow v FTSE 100



News:

Heady Days for Chinese Stock Investing

Buffett Sells, What Would Livermore Have Done?

Market Hit Hard by Trading Tax Increase

Market Falls Steeply on Government Hints

Hong Kong and Shanghai Markets Diverge

Mutual Funds Investing in China Prosper

China's Trade Surplus Scales New Heights

* Pooled investments in the Chinese stock market.

* Chinese stocks trading on Western stock exchanges

* Buying stocks trading on Chinese stock exchanges