2006 - Year of Chinese stocks (#295, Topic B)

After yesterday's close, the US markets had another successful year -- "4th straight year, their best since '03", according to today's Investor's Business Daily. "For '06, the Dow led with a 16.3% advance. The S&P 500 rose 13.6%, the Nasdaq climbed 9.5% and the 600 was up 14.1%." Still, it pales when compared to the rest of the world, particularly China. "The leading Shanghai index surged 130% and India's Sensex rallied 47%. Germany's Dax gained 22%. ... Mexico's Bolsa gained 49%." Only Britain's FTSE, rising 11%, and Japan's Nikkei, up "just 7%," lagged behind US's performance. China also claims other firsts. "China-themed ETFs [exchange-traded funds] left the rest in the dust by a country mile in 2006. IShares of FTSE Xinhua China 25 Index gained 82% while Power-Shares' Golden Dragon Halter USX China Fund sprang 52% for the year. IShares MSCI Spain Index came in third with a 48% gain." Among US-originated IPOs [initial public offerings], there were 198 totalling $43 billion in proceeds, with 6 exceeding $1 billion each, and MasterCard the largest at $2 billion. In comparison, the IPO of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China raised $19.07 billion -- the "world's largest" according to Wall Street Journal (10/20/06), and some 44% of the total raised by 198 offerings in USA in 2006. For individual stocks, China Life Insurance, with a price change of +282%, is ranked 3rd among "The Best Stocks of 2006" by IBD. (IBD tracks 8000+ stocks on a daily basis.) While past performance does not necessarily reflect the future, as the saying goes, it is difficult to deny that 2006 has been a banner year for stocks headquartered in China.