Property, banking and utilities to face govt pressure in China

HSBC Asset Management's Richard Wong believes China's property, banking and utilities sectors will face mounting pressure from the Government this year.

Wong, who manages the $3.6bn GIF Chinese Equity fund, says the Government has grown “very concerned” about the increase in property prices in parts of China and is watching the situation carefully. He says if prices move significantly higher, new policies could be introduced to address the problem and he remains cautious on the sector as a result. He also believes the country’s banks continue to face difficulties over capital raising and warns sectors such as utilities will find it difficult to raise prices due to inflation concerns. “We think Chinese banks still have some headwind...