China A Shares (Definition) | China A Shares vs B Shares

What is China A-Shares?

China A-shares can be defined as the stock shares of the companies that are based out of China and these shares are traded in Renminbi (the local currency of China) on the two securities exchange market of China that is SZSE (Shenzhen Stock Exchange) and the SSE (Shanghai Stock Exchange).

Efficiency of China A Shares

In the past few years, China has outgrown itself from a developing economy to a developed economy. This is one of the reasons that has led to a significant rise in the demand for Chinese securities. It is no denial that China is the second-largest securities market in the world. Around 14% of the international stock market is represented by China’s 9 trillion USD securities market.

China’s stock market can be segmented into domestic and offshore securities market i.e. China A-shares and B – shares. China’s 6 trillion USD domestic stock market represents China A-shares whereas 3 trillion USD offshore stock market represents China B-shares. The efficiency of A-shares accounts for around 65% of the national stock market of China. The companies that have originated and incorporated in China mostly issue these shares.

Why China A-Shares are issued?

Following are some of the few reasons as to why the entities that are incorporated in China choose such shares –

Higher Accessibility: Unlike earlier, It has become more accessible to international investors. This is certainly due to the fact that the government of China has launched various programs and initiatives through which foreign investors can readily purchase such shares.
Diversification Feature: The markets are highly diversified owing to the fact that it includes various insurance companies and state-owned banking institutions. Around 9 percent of the China A-share market represents information technology which is way higher as compared to the U.S. share market.
Level of Liquidity: These shares offer a higher rate of liquidity. Presently it ranks number two with respect to the liquidity offered in the world.
Value Bargain Factor: As compared to U.S. stocks that are always on high valuations, the domestic stocks of China are regarded as value bargains by the international institutional investors.

Apart from all these efficiencies, It also offers an alternative investment plan for the investors that are planning to trade in Chinese securities.

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How to Invest in China A-Shares?

Making investments in international institutional companies is difficult and risky at the same time. The investors might have to face risks pertaining to currency, volatility, transparency issues, regulatory issues, war, corruption, and so on. There are various types of logistical challenges too that are faced by international institutional investors. Purchasing of China A-shares might require international investors to open a brokerage account and that too with a company incorporated in China. This might be optional if the U.S. brokerage account of the foreign investor permits so. The international institutional investors can even purchase shares in an exchange-traded fund or ETF in order to make an investment in such shares.

Following are the few steps with which an international investor can invest-

Find out the stocks that are available and suitable.
Get in touch with a broker or an investment service for the purchase.
Buy China A-shares

Difference between China A Shares and B Shares

One of the major differences between China A-shares and China B – shares is that the former is expressed in the local currency of China which is RMB or the Renminbi for valuation purposes whereas the latter is expressed in international currencies like U.S. dollars for purposes pertaining to the valuation.
The availability of A-shares to international investors is fewer as compared to the availability of B-shares.
On the other hand, the availability of China A-shares to local or Chinese investors shall be higher as compared to the availability of B-shares.
It is not easy for the local or Chinese investors to trade in China B-shares and the most probable reason behind the same could be the reasons pertaining to currency exchange. Similarly, international investors might find it difficult to trade in A-shares due to the regulations imposed by the Chinese government.
China A-equity holders are domestic investors whereas China B-equity holders are international investors.

Conclusion

China A-shares are the shares of companies that are originated and incorporated in China. These shares are traded on the 2 securities exchange of China – Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) and Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) securities market.

These shares are the local or domestic shares of China since these are traded in the Renminbi or RMB that happens to be the local currency of China. It is highly efficient as these are diversified, highly accessible, and carries a good amount of value bargain factor for international institutional investors. Besides, these shares carry a high level of liquidity as compared to other classes of Chinese shares.

A-shares are totally different from B-shares as the former is traded in the local currency of China while the latter is traded in international currencies. Unlike A-shares, B-shares are not regarded as domestic shares since the latter is traded in the foreign stock market and the former is traded in the domestic stock market of China.