Chinese Tech Valuations Top 150 Times Earnings as AI Frenzy and Beijing Backing Lift Stocks
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Aug 14
Chinese Tech Valuations Top 150 Times Earnings as AI Frenzy and Beijing Backing Lift Stocks
3 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Aug 14
Summary
Star 50 stocks now trade at more than 150 times earnings, versus 35 for the Nasdaq 100, as investors pile into Chinese AI and chip names.
The rally has pushed the Star 50 up 29% this year, far ahead of the CSI 300’s 0.9% gain and the Hang Seng’s 1.5% decline.
Moonshot’s Kimi K3 launch, CXMT’s rise past Tencent in market value, and Unitree’s IPO drawing 5,500 times retail demand have reinforced bets that China can narrow the AI gap with the US.
Beijing has amplified the boom through state-backed equity buying, looser listing rules for strategically important but unprofitable tech firms, and a push for semiconductor self-sufficiency under export curbs.
The surge contrasts with a weak broader economy: China is steering savings out of property after the 2022 housing collapse, while Alibaba and Tencent shares have fallen 17% and 26% this year on soft consumer demand.
Can Beijing's relaxed listing rules for unprofitable tech giants truly close the AI gap, or will they merely inflate a dangerous bubble?
With insiders quietly dumping shares, are retail investors funding a genuine semiconductor revolution or just a carefully engineered financial illusion?