A Foreign Investor’s Guide to Accessing the Chinese Equity Market

Abstract

In this article the authors compare the extent to which Chinese companies with different types of shares provide balanced exposure to the Chinese equity market. Whereas many previous studies focus on Chinese stocks, the authors also examine the properties of Chinese companies. They find that companies that have issued A-shares exclusively (and are therefore inaccessible to most foreign investors) are distinct from companies that have also issued B-shares and/or H-shares, or those companies who have shares listed on a foreign stock exchange (and are therefore accessible to foreign investors). Consequently, the latter are not representative of the broader Chinese equity market. Foreign investors who wish to participate more fully in the Chinese market should consider obtaining a Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) license and quota so that they can gain direct exposure to the large number of Chinese companies that have only A-shares.