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China growth slower this year

Marketplace Staff Jul 29, 2008
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China growth slower this year

Marketplace Staff Jul 29, 2008
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Stacey Vanek-Smith: China’s economy has taken a hit as growth as slowed in this country. Last year was boom time, and a lot of Chinese companies went public on Wall Street. This year, it’s been a little less exuberant. But after a six-month dry-spell, two Chinese companies are testing the American market this week. Lisa Chow reports.


Lisa Chow: The U.S. stock market has seen little IPO activity this year from any company, foreign or domestic. And Chinese companies have been grappling with their own pressures.

Donald Straszheim is a China watcher for Roth Capital Partners in Los Angeles:

Donald Straszheim: What I think most investors believe is that China’s economy is going to be slowing, Olympics or no Olympics. And inflation remains pretty high. And that’s pretty stiff current to run against when you’re trying to do IPO’s of companies in an economy like this.

Of the two Chinese IPO’s coming to market this week, one is in online education, which is proving to be a huge growth business in China. The other company is a television advertising firm, which is more exposed to blips in the economy. Each company hopes to raise at least $75 million on the New York Stock Exchange.

In Beijing, I’m Lisa Chow for Marketplace.

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