Singapore’s state investor Temasek has not been spared from these headwinds in China. According to Temasek’s filings in 2021, the Singapore investor trimmed down its stakes in Chinese tech companies like Alibaba and Didi as well as education providers TAL Education Group and New Oriental Education & Technology Group.
China has been a complicated market for any investor to navigate. On the surface, it would be a no-brainer to invest in the country. With a population of over 1.4 billion people, China is home to the second largest market in the world. Take a closer look, however, and you will start to see the cracks within its veneer.
A heavy-handed attempt to quell property speculation in China by the authorities in 2020 resulted in a prolonged real estate slump, with home prices falling for four straight years since 2022. That’s on top of China’s sweeping regulatory crackdown in 2021 which led to the blocking of fintech giant Ant Group’s IPO and a ban on for-profit tutoring.
