China

As a US bank operating in China, Citi has had to balance difficult political relations between the two countries to run its business, navigating trade tensions, a sparring of words between the presidents of these two superpowers, disputes over US audits of Chinese firms, and the near-halt of lucrative China-into-US IPOs.

China Merchants Bank was a clear outlier among its domestic banking peers in the mainland in the past year as its 3.0 business model took shape and produced solid results.

As the world’s largest bank by assets, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has proven time and again that it is more than capable of navigating any headwinds and challenges that come its way.

The 33rd annual Asiamoney Brokers Poll is a Vox Populi poll that identifies the leading brokerages for equities research, sales and trading in Asia. Voters are institutional investors who represent fund management firms, wealth managers, hedge funds, pension funds, and insurance companies that trade in Asia.

The combination of China’s crackdown on technology companies, its zero-Covid strategy and its domestic property crisis have buffeted Chinese stocks this year. In order for sentiment to stabilize and for the economy to develop, reforms are needed urgently, putting more emphasis on the private sector and less on GDP growth.

The outlook for the Chinese real estate sector is bleak, with many more highly indebted companies expected to default on their bonds and loans. If the market is to recover, however, the government will need to ease more restrictions so that firms can access funding again and demand for homes picks up.

CreditEase Wealth Management