China has been the story of economic growth in the past decade and has blasted through the rankings. Not long ago, China was seen as an emerging economy. Yes, it still is according to many standards, but don’t forget that thanks to very strong growth, China is now the #3 economy in the world behind Japan and the US. Of course the main difference is that the Chinese economy is growing several times faster than the US and seems poised to do so for some time.  So it’s not surprising to hear that China has many many good investment opportunities. It is not without risk though. For almost every China believer, you will find someone in doubt because of potential bubbles in real estate, in the stock market and elsewhere. And there is no doubt, there will be bubbles over the years in such a fast growing country. It is almost impossible to time investments so I think the best way to play this is through longer term investment.


The question I’ve been asking myself in China as in other emerging countries is how to best play it.  A few months ago, there was only one option really, owning the entire Chinese stock market, through an ETF like FXI. FXI, managed by IShares is by far the most important China ETF. But like many other countries, China is seeing increasing possibilities as you can now invest in specific sectors of the Chinese market, thanks to new ETF’s such as the ones from GlobalX which offers a consumer ETF, an energy ETF, financials ETF, industrials EF, materials ETF and even a Chinese technology ETF. I will personally be on the sidelines for a few months on these sector ETF’s as I simply find it challenging enough to choose an emerging country without having to play a specific sector.

What are your thoughts on these China ETF’s? Any favourites?