Chinese leader Xi Jinping led a parade of officials this spring vowing to revive China’s economy, hoping to repair the damage wrought by years of "zero-COVID" and regulatory clampdowns. Some of the world’s biggest investors are selling anyway.
Two pioneering financiers of China’s private sector — and hence the country’s economic miracle — have signaled in recent days their intentions to continue pulling back from marquee investments in the country. European internet powerhouse Prosus registered more than $4 billion of stock in Tencent for potential sale in Hong Kong, while news emerged that SoftBank is preparing to hasten its exit from Alibaba — the e-commerce leader that made Masayoshi Son’s name.
The moves accelerate the unwinding of some of the most lucrative bets in business history. While both Prosus and SoftBank declared their over-arching plans last year and are acting partly due to reasons outside their China outlook, the latest steps have dented investor optimism over a litany of recent promises from Beijing to welcome foreign capital and loosen its grip on the tech sector.