The Chinese New Year festivities at the start of the year of the dragon proved even more spectacular than usual. But fears of a hard landing for the world’s second-biggest economy have left some experts reluctant to join the party.
China has been the growth story of the 21st century and early investors have reaped handsome rewards. But is the boom over? Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 20 per cent in 2011 and the Shanghai Composite Index is down a similar amount over the past year. While economic growth has slowed, it is still expected to nudge 9 per cent. But an oversupply of property has seen investment in this sector fall 40 per cent in December compared with the previous month. November also saw unsold property stock rise 26 per cent.
The fundamental outlook on China remains positive but it seems almost nowhere is immune from the debt problems in Europe and the US.