Foreign investors pulled record amount of money from China in second quarter

Foreign investors pulled a record amount of money from China in the last quarter, with the second-only fall on record likely reflecting deep pessimism about the world’s second-largest economy.

China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped almost US$15 billion (S$19.9 billion) in the April-June period, marking only the second time this figure has turned negative, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) released on Aug 9. It was down about US$5 billion for the first six months.

Should the decline continue for the rest of 2024, it would be the first annual net outflow since at least 1990, when comparable data begins.