China’s economy rebounded with an 8.1% increase in GDP for 2021, notching increases in fixed asset investment (4.9%), value-added industrial output (9.6%) and retail sales (12.5%). However, fourth quarter GDP growth slowed to 4.0% year-over-year from 4.9% the previous quarter, as the economy still faces uncertainty related to the pandemic and a complicated external environment.1
Recent increased scrutiny of offshore-listed Chinese companies has continued to weigh on the stock prices of many Chinese firms traded on U.S. exchanges.
U.S. IPO activity for Chinese companies continued at a strong pace in the first half of 2021; however, new listings in the U.S. slowed during the second half of the year amid stricter policies and regulations for Chinese companies pursuing offshore IPOs.2
2021 saw an uptick in going-private transaction activity for U.S.-listed companies based in China, with 10 privatizations completed during the year and nine potential transactions announced that have yet to close. U.S.-listed Chinese companies with pending going-private proposals represented approximately USD 8.6 billion in total market capitalization as of December 31, 2021.2
Sources:
1 China National Bureau of Statistics and China Ministry of Commerce
2 SEC filings, company press releases and S&P Global Market Intelligence as of December 31, 2021