Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

China's answer to the Nasdaq might be starting to fizzle

China's answer to the Nasdaq might be starting to fizzle

China's latest attempt to create a Nasdaq-style stock market appears to be running into trouble just three months in.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange launched its Star Market toward the end of July, with wild gains in prices and a few eye-catching IPOs since. But it has been forced to cancel the launch of a new index based on the market that was planned for Wednesday.

The reasons: There were too few companies on the board to justify its own index, and those that are on it were "relatively too small" in size, the exchange said in a recent statement. (The market's latest member started trading Monday, bringing the total number of listed stocks to 34, up from 25 at launch.)

The pool of stocks on the Star Market is microscopic compared to other major exchanges in China that have their own indexes, including the main market in Shanghai and a tech-focused market in Shenzhen. More than 3,000 companies are listed on those markets combined.

Investors also expect any index involving Star Market components to be a critical one to watch, the exchange said. That makes it all the more important to wait until the index is able to provide a better representation of the market, it added.

That's a pretty cool assessment of the market, especially given its remarkably hot debut. Stocks gained an average of 140% on the first day of trading. One company, Anji Microelectronics Technology, closed up 400%.

As of Wednesday, though, more than 90% of the stocks on the Star Market have lost about a third or more of the value they held at their peaks, according to data from Wind, a Chinese financial information provider.

"Apparently, the investor enthusiasm has faded," said Mark Huang, an analyst for Bright Smart Securities in Hong Kong. While the valuations of the Star Market companies are still high, they are returning to more "reasonable levels," he said.

The Star Market is part of China's bid for tech superpower status. Beijing hopes it will help China's tech companies tap into the vast wealth held by local investors. The country also wants to entice global leaders like Alibaba (BABA) and Tencent (TCEHY) to return to China from stock exchanges in New York and Hong Kong.

Huang said investors are probably going to pay close attention to upcoming earnings for the companies that are listed on the board - an opportunity to assess the quality of companies that are supposed to represent China's future.

Huang added that the board needs to attract more quality companies, so that it has a bigger pool of them to select for the component index. The Shanghai Stock Exchange has indicated that 50 companies will be included on its index — but only if there are more than 50 companies on the board. Otherwise, all of the stocks could be added to the index.

The Star Market may be on its way to adding more firms. As of Friday, the market had accepted applications from 162 companies, 42 of which completed the registration process.

"The board is still in a very early stage," said Hao Hong, managing director and head of research at Bank of Communications International.

He attributed the pullback seen in stock prices on the market to lower expectations from investors, adding that the board hasn't attracted much money yet.

"I think lots of investors still have a wait-and-see attitude," he said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×