Stock Market

As the Chinese boom continues to echo throughout the world, looking at a couple of benchmark stocks and funds are an excellent way to track the growth of the country’s economy.  Across the board, no matter what sector or industry, the Chinese economy has grown, and certain stocks and securities have have huge gains–sometimes doubling, or even tripling each year.  Here are a few securities from different industries that show the success being found in China.

• FXI: The Xinhua China 25 Index Fund is an ETF which invests 90% of its holdings in the top 25 companies in China.  The fund started the year at around $115 per share.  Thanks to a strong October, the fund has broken through the $190 mark, and looks to keep churning along for the rest of the year.
• LFC: China Life Insurance Co. is the largest health, life, accident, and annuities in China.  The stock opened 2007 at $54 per share, and as of this writing, closed at just under $96.
• PTR: PetroChina is China’s largest oil company, with operations throughout the world, and is one of the largest companies in the world, with a $341 billion market cap.  The year for oil has been very volatile, and PTR’s past 10 months have been no different.  Although, looking at the company’s chart, some valley’s are apparent, a last year rally has boosted the shares to $176, up from the $141 it opened the year at.
• BIDU: Baidu is China’s largest internet search engine, boasts a market cap of almost $11 billion, and is colloquially referred to as the ‘Chinese Google.’  With the tech boom taking hold in China, and millions of people coming online each month, the tech boom has been nothing short of a gold mine for investors.  BIDU opened the year at $114 per share, and has almost tripled in just 10 months, closing last Friday at $315.
• CHL: China Mobil is the country’s largest mobile phone company, and as business continues to grow throughout the mainland, and the country becomes increasingly interconnected, investors are betting that the cell phone boom will continue its rise.  The company is a giant, with a market cap of just under $340 billion, and its closest competitor at $26.5 billion.  Needless to say, CHL totally dominates the market, and this domination shows in its share price, which has risen from the $45 price it opened the year at to the $84.96 it ended at last Friday.

Of course, everyone knows that past performance is no indication of future returns, but looking over these few stocks shows just how dramatic and deep the Chinese growth has been, and for investors who are involved in these securities, perhaps the past is prelude future riches.

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