Japanification has become a buzzword
The combination of a housing market downturn, demographic headwinds, and high
leverage has generated widespread interest in comparing China now to Japan in the
90s/00s. Our economists see similarities but also significant macro differences,
suggesting that Japanification is far from the only path forward for China.
China equities now are simply not Japan in the late 80s...
1) Japan traded on 60x tPE at the peak, vs 20x for China in early 2021; 2) Japan’s
trend profit growth was much lower in the late 80s than Chinese growth at present;
3) the Yen doubled post Plaza Accord and stayed strong after the market peaked, but
the Rmb is arguably undervalued now; and, 4) household exposures to equities are
lower in China, implying stronger asset reallocation flows to equities.
...but, there are valuable lessons learned for equity investors (and policymakers)
Powerful and tradable rallies existed even in a sustained bear market; 1.
Resolving structural issues requires decisive, forceful, and predictable policies; 2.
Real rates matter more than QE for equity valuations; 3.
Adaptors, innovators, and exporters prevailed when local growth was challenged; 4.
New consumption patterns created new winners; 5.
Property deleveraging was a multi-year process; 6.
NPL recognition and recapitalization are keys to re-rate banks; 7.
Investing in technology is necessary to boost and realize growth potential; 8.
Investors do pay for corporate governance reform; 9.
Government directly buying equities is helpful, in most cases. 10.
Buy China Rebalancing Portfolio
These lessons suggest that mass-market consumer names, select exporters, and
the themes of AI, New Infra, Little Giants, and governance leaders could do well as
China rebalances. We highlight 40 GS-Buy rated beneficiaries.
Kinger Lau, CFA
+852-2978-1224 | kinger.lau@gs.com
Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C.
Bruce Kirk, CFA
+81(3)6437-9950 | bruce.kirk@gs.com
Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd.
Timothy Moe, CFA
+65-6889-1199 | timothy.moe@gs.com
Goldman Sachs (Singapore) Pte
Kazunori Tatebe, CFA
+81(3)6437-9898 |
kazunori.tatebe@gs.com
Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd.
Kevin Wang, CFA
+852-2978-2446 | kevin.wang@gs.com
Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C.
Si Fu, Ph.D.
+852-2978-0200 | si.fu@gs.com
Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C.
China Strategy
Equity lessons learned for China from Japan’s lost
decades and investment implications
29 October 2023 | 6:06PM HKT
Investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision. For Reg AC
certification and other important disclosures, see the Disclosure Appendix, or go to
www.gs.com/research/hedge.html.