The suspension of the Ant Group’s IPO, which would have been the world’s largest, has pivoted investors’ attention to China’s new economy. In Hong Kong’s stock market, the China new economy is not new. In January 2018, the Hang Seng SCHK New Economy Index (HSSCNE) was launched on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This was followed by the Hang Seng China New Economy Index (HSCNE) in September 2018.
For a while, both indices were relatively stable and correlated with the benchmark Hang Seng Index (HSI). However, after March 2020 — a trough for the global economy — the indices began to outperform the HSI.
Investors may be curious what “new economy” is all about. Actually, there are no clear boundaries. High-growth or cutting-edge technology industries can all be considered new economy.