As Beijing launches new attacks against private businesses, US-listed Chinese tech stocks are seeing their biggest slump since the 2008 financial crisis.
What Happened: China’s big tech companies cannot seem to catch a break. In July, the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index, which follows the 98 biggest US-listed Chinese stocks, tumbled a whopping 22 percent, marking its largest drop since the 2008 financial crisis. Among the companies hit hardest was Meituan, which saw its worst two days on record — down 14 percent on July 26 and 17.7 percent the following day in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Tencent and Alibaba stocks similarly slid by double digits, erasing more than $237 billion across the three giants in total.
The Jing Take: These plummets come as Chinese authorities launch new attacks against private companies and those listed abroad. Earlier this month, China’s Cyberspace Administration suspended the registrations of new users to Didi just days after its blockbuster New York Stock Exchange debut, with regulators launching probes into the ride-sharing company and delisting its app over “national security” concerns.
A few weeks later, the State Council announced a new set of policies outlawing private tutoring companies from turning a profit and raising funds on stock markets, threatening to wipe out billions of dollars from the sector. And now, after unveiling restrictions on the corporate use of facial recognition technology this week, China is set to introduce new data security and personal information protection laws that could have far-reaching implications on its digital economy and cross-border businesses. Continue to read the full article here
