Chinese Government Crackdown Triggers 5.4% Slump in Hong Kong Index

Source: Bloomberg.

HSTECH down -6.57%.

The Hang Seng Tech Index was established one year to give investors greater exposure to China’s internet giants and now it’s the worst-performing major technology gauge across the world.

The Index has been on a roller-coaster ride in the last 12 months. The gauge was up 59% at its February peak but since over $551 billion in market value has been wiped out following Beijing’s clampdown on the tech sector.

Joshua Crabb, portfolio manager at Robeco Hong Kong Ltd states the ongoing concern that the medium-term earnings power might be eroded by their data becoming more of public good, increasing privacy concern.

The Hong Kong index also took a new beating this month, dropping 11% after China announced the banning of new users from downloading Didi’s app.

The index slumped by 5.4% on Monday as a selloff in Chinese education companies worsened after China announced an overhaul threatening the $100 billion sector.The underperformance denotes regulatory risks for one of the fastest-growing sectors of China’s economy.