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Foreign funds outperform in China rally

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-17 18:04

Foreign funds investing in China's stock market outperformed all types of domestic Chinese funds as the market rallied in January, a study by fund data firm Thomson Reuters Lipper showed on Tuesday.

Twenty funds trading Chinese A shares through the country's Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) scheme posted an average return of 7.60 percent last month, Lipper said.

Total net assets at the QFII funds rose 9.01 percent to $7.58 billion in January. The iShares FTSE/Xinhua A50 China Tracker 2823.HK fund posted the highest growth of 13.58 percent. QFII funds exceeded the average return of all classes of domestic Chinese funds during the month. Aggressively managed mixed-asset funds were the top local performers, posting an average rise in net asset value per unit of 6.83 percent.

Foreign funds' outperformance contrasted with last year, when QFII funds fell 65.05 percent, underperforming the worst-hit local funds, pure equity funds, which dropped 53.14 percent.

However, both foreign and local funds underperformed the CSI 300 Index of top Chinese stocks during January. The index jumped 11.83 percent last month, boosted by hopes for a recovery of Chinese economic growth later this year.

Bond funds were the worst-performing type of Chinese fund in January, and the only type to suffer a decline in average net asset value per unit; they lost 0.56 percent.

Funds investing Chinese money in foreign markets under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) scheme dropped 7.97 percent during January, as global stock markets greatly underperformed the Chinese market, Lipper said.