Baillie Gifford: Risk of a Lehman moment in China 'very low'

NAV down 10.7%

A collapse of the property market, continued Covid-19 lockdowns and sabre rattling with Taiwan have been three major drivers to the recent decline in Chinese equities, according to Baillie Gifford’s China Growth trust team.

In the unaudited interim financial report for the six months to 31 July 2022, managers Sophie Earnshaw and Roderick Snell said the "weakness in Chinese equities" had persisted during the first half of the year. For that time, they reported the trust's NAV had fallen 10.7%, heavier than its MSCI China benchmark's 5.4% decline. The net loss on investments for the period was £23.7m, less than the same period in 2021, which saw £45.2m in losses. In the report, the managers said they hesitated to "draw too much" from short-term performance and hoped shareholders would instead judge them...