The U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba ended a historically strong month on a high note Wednesday, as the China-based e-commerce giant was swept up in the hope that the country will loosen its strict zero-COVID policy.
This stock has been in news articles stating that Alibaba is good for long term investment and it can reach to new highs very soon.
Alibaba's problems started in late 2020 when the Chinese government launched an antitrust probe into its e-commerce operations. That investigation culminated in a record fine of $2.8 billion the following April, as well as bans on its exclusive deals with merchants and tighter restrictions on its promotions, marketing campaigns, and investments.
Few years back many articles prominently placed on the value proposition of Russian stocks, even after knowing that Russian authorities do not respect the rule of law. Experts used to say that market has already discounted that risk.
We saw what the outcome was sometime after Feb 24th, 2022 when almost all Russian stocks held abroad became effectively worthless.
Xi has publicly stated that his goal is to re-unite China. Why would we not believe him? Sources in the NSA say that the timeline has been accelerated. We know the Chinese Navy build out is very much keyed on Taiwan "defense" (invasion).
Investing in China is a terrible idea, unless of course you like to gamble. We should avoid countries that don't abide by the rule of law.
A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would result in western sanctions that would destroy any equity value of Chinese stocks, sure as happened with Russia.
Also, Alibaba might be a great investment if China's economy were still growing rapidly, its antitrust regulators were more relaxed, and its home government didn't repeatedly disrupt retailers with zero-COVID policies. But those problems all continue to cast dark clouds over Alibaba's future, and they make it tough to recommend buying the stock as a turnaround play.
What are your thoughts on not just Alibaba but other Chinese stocks that are listed in US markets?