Chinese investors hope for better in 2013

BEIJING - Chinese investors agonized over underperforming stock markets this year but are hoping for better rewards in 2013 as analysts predict on economic recovery and market reforms.

A shareholder watches the information of the equity market in a brokerage office in Jiujiang city, east China's Jiangxi province, Dec 31, 2012. Chinese shares continued to rise on the last trading day of the year, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gaining 1.61 percent, or 35.88 points, to end at 2,269.13 points on Monday. [Photo/Xinhua]

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed with a 3.17 percent tick-up, rallying 1.61 percent on the last trading day of 2012 to 2269.13 points.

However, the index remained one of the worst performers in the world, compared with Japan's Nikkei 225, which surged nearly 23 percent in 2012, and the Standard & Poor's 500 on Wall Street that saw an increase of more than 11 percent.

Nearly two thirds of netizens surveyed by China's largest portal website Sina.com as of 4:30 pm Monday said they lost more than 5 percent of their stock investment in 2012.

"The stock market had a bullish run on the last day of 2012. I hope it keeps the good momentum and makes up the ground lost in 2013," wrote Xixigongzhu88, a user of China's Twitter-like service Sina Weibo.

Both investors and analysts have complained about anaemic corporate earnings, rampant insider trading and frequent initial public offerings as China's economy slowed for seven quarters consecutively.

But many sense a turnaround next year, expecting the economy to improve and authorities to be more reform-minded.

Nearly 95 percent of people predict the benchmark Shanghai index to remain above 2000 points in 2013 and over 60 percent think it will stand above 2,500, according to the Sina.com survey, which attracted more than 33,000 participants.

The structural transition of China's economy and the government's focus on urbanization, growth quality and residents' income will produce good returns for stock investors next year, said Tang Hua, investment manager at Bosera Asset Management (International) Co Ltd.

Auto shares as well as stocks of home appliances, medicine, food and beverages may benefit from economic development in 2013, Tang forecasted.

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