Stock falls add to investor worries over export outlook
Shipping companies see sharp decline in freight rates in traditional lull after the Lunar New Year
Shares of some export-oriented companies fell as much as 13 per cent this year despite the mainland's export growth having jumped more than 10 per cent last month, underpinning investor worries over the sector's outlook.
VTech, which makes electronic learning products, and Techtronic Industries, which produces power tools and outdoor power equipment, saw their shares fall 10.63 per cent and 13.45 per cent, respectively, in the year so far. Container port operator China Merchants Holdings (International) is down 4.77 per cent.
The slide in market value flies in the face of robust growth in mainland exports last month, which rose 10.6 per cent from a year earlier and 4.3 per cent from December. However, the growth rate could have been inflated because of over-invoicing, a Citigroup report said.
Analysts said some exporters were over-invoicing their shipments in order to bring capital into the country in contravention of Beijing's capital controls.
The Shanghai Containerised Freight Index, which tracks weekly freight rates for cargo exiting Shanghai, fell 12 per cent last week.
Manufacturing activity in the first two weeks following the Lunar New Year is traditionally slow as many factories have yet to return to full operation because workers have not returned from their hometowns.
The drop in the freight index this year is steeper than last year, as it fell 8 per cent in each of the two weeks.
