China and Hong Kong stocks lost nearly $5 trillion in 3 years — more than India's market cap

Stocks in China and Hong Kong sold off a massive $4.8 trillion in market capitalization since 2021, which according to HSBC, is more than the value of the Indian stock market.

The statistic does not bode well for either China or Hong Kong, especially when the National Stock Exchange of India has only grown during the same period.

The NSE overtook Hong Kong Stock Exchanges and Clearing to become the fourth largest in the world in January, according to data from the World Federation of Exchanges, and all the listed stocks are worth a combined $4.63 trillion, making it the third largest in Asia.

This is indicative of how much traction Indian stocks have gained in the last few years, in contrast to declines in both China and Hong Kong.

Mainland China's CSI 300 index has fallen for three straight years, closing out with declines of 11.4% last year. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index performed even worse, with 2023 as its fourth consecutive decline ending the year 13.8% lower. Both were the bottom performers among major Asia-Pacific indexes last year.

HSBC's research compared India's NSE — its top market in terms of size — to the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Hong Kong's HKEX.

China's beleaguered property sector has been a source of worry for investors, which has also affected Hong Kong. Many Chinese real estate stocks including Evergrande Group and Country Garden are listed on the HKEX.

China set its growth target at 5% for 2024, but analysts have been skeptical of the world's second-largest economy meeting the mark. S&P Global Ratings said last week that it expects China's GDP to grow 4.6% in 2024, slower than the 5.2% rate for 2023.

"Our forecast factors in continued property weakness and modest macro policy support. Deflation remains a