China’s state buyers have emerged as one of the biggest groups of investors in the nation’s US$12 trillion stock market, underscoring how government support underpins the market’s bull run.
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Dubbed the national team and led by Central Huijin Investment, state buyers held a combined 3.94 trillion yuan (US$553.1 billion) of yuan-denominated stocks as of the end of June, surpassing the 3.07 trillion yuan held by foreign investors, according to data compiled by Huaxi Securities. State buyers’ holdings accounted for 4.8 per cent of the market capitalisation of shares that were available for public trading and were second only to mutual-fund firms, which held a total position valued at 6.04 trillion yuan, according to the brokerage.
A key benchmark of China’s onshore stocks hit a decade high last month, indicating that state buying had borne fruit, as top leaders repeatedly emphasised financial stability and planning in an effort to promote the stock market as a place to preserve household wealth amid a downturn in the property market.
China’s stock market is the world’s second-largest behind that of the US, but has suffered repeated boom-to-bust cycles amplified by swings in retail sentiment, detached from shareholder returns by listed companies.
“The state support for the market will persist for a long period of time,” said Zhang Yusheng, an analyst at Everbright Securities in Shanghai. “Stocks are expected to rise further.”
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China officially has no stabilisation fund like those set up in other countries to support stocks. But the national team played a role tantamount to such a fund, according to central bank governor Pan Gongsheng.