Hong Kong’s Exchange Fund, the war chest used to defend the local currency, continued its comeback in the first quarter, posting a return of HK$54.3 billion (US$7 billion) as rising overseas stock markets offset losses in domestic equities.
Investment banks including Goldman Sachs, UBS and BNP have become more positive on Chinese stocks, with foreign selling having subsided. But the property crisis, deflationary risks and tepid consumer demand mean global investors are yet to go all ‘all in’.
Even in the absence of the buying restrictions, a healthy supply and elevated interest rates mean the city’s infamously expensive house prices are unlikely to return to the kind of breakneck growth seen in the past, analysts say.