Happy Spring! I know there will be one more cold spell before we really get into the warm weather (there always is), but at least we can say that Winter is behind us.
You may have read my blog article last month, on “The Complexities of Investing in China”. For the month of August, Chinese tech stocks have come under further pressure as the risk of China clamping down on tech companies continues to be a concern. Tencent (major holding of Prosus, and therefore Naspers) has fallen to a price-to-book value that is lower than where it traded during the 2008 financial crisis. According to Bloomberg, even Mainland China investors, who initially saw the decline as a buying opportunity, are now net sellers of Tencent.
Tencent is not the only company, Alibaba has additionally been grabbing headlines as it falls. In fact, the four biggest losers since February, across the globe, have all been Chinese tech companies (Tencent, Alibaba, Kuaishou Technology and Meituan). The Hang Seng Tech Index has fallen more than 40% over this period, eroding approximately USD 1.5 tn. Both Tencent and Alibaba released results during the month of August, each revealing slower growth. The uncertainty remains and globally investors are apprehensive.
I went for my Covid vaccine on 27 August. It was only my first dose, but I look forward to being able to travel and move freely again. As we stand, just over a quarter of the world population has been fully vaccinated now. The US is double this, with around 52.5% of their population vaccinated. Since the onset of the release of vaccines, there has been talk of a “vaccine passport” requirement to travel. As such, I have not been surprised to see the likes of Disney Cruises and other travel related service providers requiring vaccines for tourists. More recently, however, there has been hustle and bustle around the mandating of vaccines for employees; and US listed companies now requiring employees to have been vaccinated or having different rules for those who have not been. I suppose it’s the good old utilitarian theory.
Post the riots of last month, we have done some research on property, SA REITs to be exact – check out Heinrich’s summary of the process and the resulting implementation.
Keep safe and have a wonderful September.
Ashley
