On the other hand, Chinese stocks were the worst performers in Asia this year, also lagging a bulk of their global peers as a post-COVID economic rebound largely failed to materialize this year.
China’s blue-chip Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index was set to lose over 14% this year, while the Shanghai Composite was down nearly 7%. The bluechip index was also at its weakest level in nearly five years.
But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was by far the biggest decliner in Asia, set for a nearly 18% loss in 2023 amid steep losses in mainland stocks.
A persistent debt crisis in China's property sector, slowing consumer spending and declining international demand for Chinese exports also chipped away at the world’s second-largest economy this year, largely offsetting an economic boost from the lifting of anti-COVID measures at the beginning of 2023.
Beijing also maintained a largely conservative approach to rolling out more stimulus measures, which further dented sentiment towards Chinese markets.
The Chinese government recently outlined plans to issue more debt and spur infrastructure spending in the coming year- a trend that could spur an economic recovery.
But analysts remained doubtful over any potential improvement in China, given that the government is also grappling with overheated debt levels. Ratings agency Moody’s had recently flagged a potential downgrade to the country’s credit rating, and had also changed its outlook to negative.