Foreign investors sold a record $12bn worth of Chinese stocks in August as piecemeal support measures from Beijing failed to assuage concerns over slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy and a worsening crisis in the country’s property sector.
The unprecedented outflows come as figures on Thursday showed China’s manufacturing sector contracted for a fifth consecutive month, despite pledges from leaders in late July to deliver more substantial support measures for the vital property sector, which is typically responsible for about a quarter of annual economic activity.
Simmering tensions with Washington have also dimmed western investors’ appetite for Chinese assets, with US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo warning during a four-day visit to the country this week that American companies were starting to see China as “uninvestable”.
Read the full story on the Financial Times here.