Bullish Standard Chartered to continue investing in China amid strengthening economic recovery

Standard Chartered ‘remains committed to investing in China’, country head Jerry Zhang says, pointing to strong third-quarter economic data

The IMF has revised upwards its 2023 GDP growth forecast for China to 5.4 per cent from its earlier estimate of 5 per cent

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Standard Chartered is upbeat about its prospects in mainland China. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 9:00pm, 8 Nov 2023

Standard Chartered, one of Hong Kong’s three currency-issuing banks, said China’s economy is on a solid footing, bolstering its confidence to invest more in the country.

Jerry Zhang, CEO of the emerging-markets focused lender’s China business, said third-quarter economic data added to evidence that business and commercial activities in the world’s second-largest economy were strengthening.

“We maintain our long-term bullish forecast on China,” Zhang said at a media briefing on the sidelines of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai on Wednesday. “Standard Chartered remains committed to investing in China.”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday revised upwards its forecast for mainland China’s gross domestic product (GDP), saying it would expand 5.4 per cent year on year in 2023, up from its earlier estimate of 5 per cent.

The revision follows Beijing’s decision to issue 1 trillion yuan (US$137.3 billion) of sovereign bonds while allowing local governments to front-load part of their 2024 bond quotas.