As trade war escalates, Chinese tech start-ups are suffering on Wall Street – despite spectacular bull market

As the longest bull run in US stock market history charges on, investors continue to look out for ripe new prospects. For years, innovative tech companies out of China had become a promising way to catch the wave.

Tech has been the fastest-growing sector in the Chinese economy, and the country’s start-ups quickly became the darlings of the US market as the domestic roster of public companies shrank. US investors and Chinese tech companies knew they had something to offer each other.

Through initial public offerings on US exchanges, Chinese tech start-ups gained access to the deepest pool of capital in the world. For investors, there was an opportunity to tap into the upside of the sector’s growth – and China’s rise – along with the assurance that the companies had been vetted by the US regulators.

“The beauty to list here is that companies can tap into both markets in Hong Kong and here in the US,” said Alex Ibrahim, head of international capital markets at the New York Stock Exchange.

But as Washington ratchets up the pressure on Beijing with an escalating trade war and accuses Chinese companies of being national security threats, these newly listed companies are being dented by the fallout.