China invites global investors for rare meeting as economy sputters
Published: 02:07 PM,Jul 15,2023 | EDITED : 06:07 PM,Jul 15,2023
HONG KONG: China's financial regulators have invited some of the world's biggest investors to a rare symposium next week, three sources said, seeking to encourage foreigners to keep investing in the world's second-largest economy despite its recent weakness and rising geopolitical tensions.
The meeting in Beijing will focus on the current conditions of US dollar-denominated investment firms in China and the main challenges facing them, according to the sources who have direct knowledge of the matter and invitation documents.
The gathering comes at a time when global investors and banks are warning that confidence is waning in China's economic outlook.
Such a meeting, with a clear agenda to discuss challenges facing global fund managers investing in China, is rare, the three sources said, and reflected Beijing's keenness to shore up confidence among foreign investors.
Large foreign and domestic fund managers such as private equity (PE) firms, known as general partners (GPs), and their investors or limited partners (LPs) including sovereign wealth funds and pension funds are expected to join the meeting, said the sources.
They also will be encouraged to provide suggestions to help address challenges facing their businesses in China and share their outlook on the economy, according to the sources and documents.
The global funds which will attend will likely send their China-based senior staff, though some senior executives will be flying to China for the talks, the sources added.
All three sources spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak with the media.
Weighed down by strict Covid measures, China's economy grew just 3% in 2022, one of its worst showings in decades. Activity rebounded early this year after the curbs were abruptly lifted, but momentum has faded sharply since, while policy uncertainty and tensions between China, the US and other Western powers have heightened.
The meeting also comes as some PE firms and their investors have been rethinking their China strategies after a years-long, bruising crackdown on private enterprises such as tech companies, which has cast a long shadow over PE investors' return prospects and narrowed investment opportunities, separate sources said.
Canada's No. 3 pension fund - Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) said in January it was pausing future direct investments in private assets in China.
Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the country's securities regulator, will address the attendees, according to two of the sources.
The meeting is organized by China's fund regulator Asset Management Association of China (AMAC).
Months of disappointing economic data has MSCI's China share index down 2% on the year, against a 15% gain for world stocks, while the yuan is hovering at 8-month lows, pushing some investors to close up their China strategies. — Reuters
The meeting in Beijing will focus on the current conditions of US dollar-denominated investment firms in China and the main challenges facing them, according to the sources who have direct knowledge of the matter and invitation documents.
The gathering comes at a time when global investors and banks are warning that confidence is waning in China's economic outlook.
Such a meeting, with a clear agenda to discuss challenges facing global fund managers investing in China, is rare, the three sources said, and reflected Beijing's keenness to shore up confidence among foreign investors.
Large foreign and domestic fund managers such as private equity (PE) firms, known as general partners (GPs), and their investors or limited partners (LPs) including sovereign wealth funds and pension funds are expected to join the meeting, said the sources.
They also will be encouraged to provide suggestions to help address challenges facing their businesses in China and share their outlook on the economy, according to the sources and documents.
The global funds which will attend will likely send their China-based senior staff, though some senior executives will be flying to China for the talks, the sources added.
All three sources spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak with the media.
Weighed down by strict Covid measures, China's economy grew just 3% in 2022, one of its worst showings in decades. Activity rebounded early this year after the curbs were abruptly lifted, but momentum has faded sharply since, while policy uncertainty and tensions between China, the US and other Western powers have heightened.
The meeting also comes as some PE firms and their investors have been rethinking their China strategies after a years-long, bruising crackdown on private enterprises such as tech companies, which has cast a long shadow over PE investors' return prospects and narrowed investment opportunities, separate sources said.
Canada's No. 3 pension fund - Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) said in January it was pausing future direct investments in private assets in China.
Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the country's securities regulator, will address the attendees, according to two of the sources.
The meeting is organized by China's fund regulator Asset Management Association of China (AMAC).
Months of disappointing economic data has MSCI's China share index down 2% on the year, against a 15% gain for world stocks, while the yuan is hovering at 8-month lows, pushing some investors to close up their China strategies. — Reuters