Plenum power: Will China's reforms drive stock market returns?

Strategists and multi-managers are moving back into China following the latest wave of economic reforms detailed in its Third Plenum, with some labelling the package of measures as the ‘catalyst' for stock market returns.

Despite the country’s breakneck growth rate – currently standing at 7.6% – the region’s stock markets have been some of the worst performing globally, with paltry returns of around 8% over the last three-and-a-half years. However, investors are now tilting portfolios back to the region following the Third Plenum held on 9-12 November. President Xi Jinping and the ruling Communist Party’s sweeping measures have been labelled the most important event to happen for years, with reforms including a relaxation of the one-child policy, and more property rights for farmers. Critics have sa...