China has stock 'bubble' - Li Ka-shing: 2007-05-18 Bloomberg

China has stock 'bubble' - Li Ka-shing
2007-05-18 Bloomberg

Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man, said China's stock valuations "must be a bubble" and prices are likely to decline. "As a Chinese, I'm worried about the stock market in China," Li, 78, told reporters in Hong Kong Thursday.

He joins central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan in saying China's stock prices are excessive and spoke a day after Premier Wen Jiabao warned of "problems" for the economy. China's benchmark CSI 300 Index rose 2.1 percent Thursday, bringing gains this year to 85 percent.

China has stock

The measure closed at a record as the government said investment in factories and real estate jumped 25.5 percent in the first four months. The economy grew 11.1 percent in the first quarter "Domestic investors are getting too sanguine about investing in the market," said Teo Joo Wah, who helps manage about $2 billion at Fullerton Fund Management Co., a unit of Singapore's state-owned investment company Temasek Holdings Pte.

China's CSI 300 has a valuation of 43 times estimated earnings. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, which has gained 5.2 percent in 2007, is at 16 times. The number of brokerage accounts set up to buy mainland shares and mutual funds amounted to 327,019 Wednesday, according to the China Depository & Clearing Corp.

Investors opened a record 385,121 new accounts on May 8. "You've got to be cautious when you see that many investment accounts being opened," Fullerton's Teo said.

ADRs Fall

The Bank of New York China ADR index, which tracks American depositary receipts of Chinese companies trading in the U.S., slipped 1.7 percent as of 10:31 a.m. in New York. Shares of China Life Insurance Co., the country's largest insurer, dropped 64 cents to $50.12 on the New York Stock Exchange.

China Telecom Corp., the nation's biggest fixed-line telephone carrier, declined $1.84 to $54.64. Comments from Li resonate in Asia and in Hong Kong, where he's known as "Superman" for his investment acumen.

He invested in the Hong Kong initial public offering of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., while his flagship property company Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. and a separate Li foundation each bought $10 million of shares in the April share sale of China Molybdenum Co. The stock has since risen 84 percent.

'Right Calls'

"Mr. Li has a reputation of making the right calls," said Kenny Tang, associate director at Hong Kong-based Tung Tai Securities Ltd. "But I don't think his comment will immediately trigger a panic sell-off. It'll probably remind people to be more cautious and stay alert." Investors are flocking to the stock market to benefit from rising corporate earnings in an economy that has grown 10 percent in each of the last four years.

Profits at Chinese companies listed in the A-share market grew 82 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, beating analyst estimates, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a May 10 research note. The rise in China's shares has made the nation's stocks the most expensive among the world's major markets. Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse Group analysts have in the past week said they may face a "correction."

The government has said it will try and slow the pace of economic growth to prevent a bubble. Premier Wen Wednesday said excess liquidity is a concern. "We'll take a number of measures to strengthen our control of the economy," he told the African Development Bank's annual meeting in Shanghai.

Watching Prices

People's Bank of China Governor Zhou on May 6 said a bubble may be building in China's share market. While there is no evidence that inflation is getting out of control, the central bank is watching asset prices, he said.

The central bank has raised interest rates three times since April last year and increased bank reserve ratios seven times. A slump in China's stocks may be felt beyond its borders. A record 9.2 percent plunge in the CSI 300 on Feb. 27 triggered a five-day rout that wiped more than $3.3 trillion from the market value of equities worldwide.

The CSI 300 Thursday climbed 2.1 percent to a record 3778.60, the biggest increase among markets included in global benchmarks. The index has almost tripled in the past year. Li's influence on Hong Kong investors was evident in trading Thursday.

Shares of Cheung Kong, the city's biggest developer by value, climbed 2.4 percent after stock exchange filings showed that Li raised his stake in the company to 39.29 percent from 39.21 percent.

'I'm Confident'

"I know my company well and I'm confident in its future," Li said. He was speaking after the annual general meeting of Cheung Kong.

Cheung Kong and its unit Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. bought shares in ICBC's $22 billion IPO, the world's largest ever stock sale. The company's Hong Kong shares have risen 39 percent since listing on Oct. 27.

Li also bought shares in China Molybdenum's $1 billion IPO. Shares of the company, the country's second-biggest producer of the material used to toughen steel, surged 59 percent on its April 26 debut.

李嘉诚:2007年05月18日内地股市让人惊忧A股泡沫 吁股民量力

内地股市让人惊 李嘉诚忧A股泡沫 吁股民量力
2007年05月18日
内地股市过热，亚洲首富、长和系主席李嘉诚(李嘉诚新闻,李嘉诚说吧)昨直言对此非常忧心

　　

　　5月17日，沪深两市呈现单边上扬走势，沪指再次站稳4000点上方，深圳成指突破12000点，再创新高，成交量明显放大。 中新社发 引炜 摄

　　版权声明:凡标注有“cnsphoto”字样的图片版权均属中国新闻网，未经书面授权，不得转载使用。

　　中新网5月18日电 内地股市炒至“烚烚”，有人卖屋卖田套现投身股海，鲜有评论股市的亚洲首富、长和系主席李嘉诚(李嘉诚新闻,李嘉诚说吧)昨直言对此非常忧心。
他表示，作为中国人，他很担心内地股市的情况，并认为内地股市已出现泡沫，情况持续将会“撞板”。他指出，从过去的历史来看，现时内地股市PE(市盈率)高达50至60倍情况，结果是不会长久的，股市下挫，最受损失的是普通大众，而内地经济出现波动将对香港有影响。

　　香港文汇报报道，李嘉诚(李嘉诚新闻,李嘉诚说吧)昨直言，香港股市现时的PE合理，并不太高，但以事论事，目前内地所有发展快过香港，但内地股市的PE达50倍至60倍，是惊人的市盈率，所以希望市民量力而为。他说，“当然不希望内地股市爆破，不停有很多人话是泡沫、有危机，如能留意外界善意的批评，自己小心些，当然是最好的。内地经济有波动，一定会影响香港。”

　　他还借97亚洲金融风暴的教训来提醒港人。他表示，香港人要紧记97金融风暴的历史，股市暴涨及暴跌的教训，要量力而为，因为每次股市暴跌，普罗市民损失最大。

　　对于中央放宽QDII机制，将港股纳入代客境外理财(相关:证券 财经)的投资范围，会否令港股进一步攀升，他表示，香港现时的股票市值达15万亿元，QDII初期来港的资金可能只有500亿元，占港股市值很小，对港股影响不大。(章佳强、梁悦琴)