Fund managers are less bullish about Chinese equities in the fourth quarter as the mainland economy is expected to worsen, according to the latest quarterly survey by HSBC.
The survey, conducted among fund managers from 13 of the world's leading fund management houses, showed only 25 per cent of those surveyed rated Greater China equities as 'overweight', compared with 63 per cent in the third quarter.
Those who put an 'underweight' on these equities or remained neutral, however, rose to 13 per cent and 63 per cent respectively from zero and 38 per cent a quarter earlier.
'The mainland's economy is expected to slow down in the coming months and this has influenced the views of many fund managers on Greater China,' said Bruno Lee, the head of Wealth Management Personal Financial Services in Hong Kong.
More fund managers were bearish about equities from developed markets as their economies were heading for recession, Mr Lee said.
The survey found that fund managers who underweighted equities from North America and Europe grew to 50 per cent in the fourth quarter from 44 per cent in the previous quarter. Those underweighting Japan's equities increased from 22 per cent in the third quarter to 33 per cent in the current quarter.