China’s listed manufacturers are increasingly putting their money into financial assets such as stocks and bonds rather than investing in their own businesses, as the potential returns from capital expenditure wane.
The fall in investment by industrial groups is weighing on China’s economy at a time when it is facing a severe slowdown, growing at a 30-year low of 6 per cent in the third quarter.
Manufacturers listed in mainland China increased their investments in financial products by nearly one-third in the first 10 months of this year compared with full-year 2018 to Rmb2.5tn ($353bn), according to East Money Information, a financial data provider.