(Bloomberg) — As China pivots toward a consumer and service-based economy, stock investors should pay close attention to the country’s millennials.
That’s the view of Alice Shen, senior associate at investment firm VanEck Australia, who expects the cohort to have just as big an impact as the U.S. baby boomers did through the end of the last century. That’s going to see opportunities in “new economy markets” across consumer staples, consumer discretionary, healthcare and information technology stocks, she said.
“This is a good entry point for investors,” said Shen, adding that the Chinese government’s recent focus on themes of common prosperity might signal potential future moves to close the country’s wealth gap, which would lift the spending power of the masses.
“That will in turn help boost the momentum in domestic brands over global ones — from ‘Made in China’ to ‘Designed in China’,” she said.
What ‘Common Prosperity’ Means and Why Xi Wants It: QuickTake
Shen recommended small and mid-caps over larger companies. She said recent rate cuts and increased stimulus buoy these areas of the market, which account for about 60% of China’s GDP, and there would be more growth in this space in the next year. That’s despite mounting concerns over escalating regulatory crackdowns from authorities in Beijing across all manner of sectors.
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