Asia Markets

Kevin O'Leary says it's 'crazy' to avoid Chinese stocks, and it 'makes no sense whatsoever'

Key Points
  • Avoiding the Chinese market is "crazy" and "makes no sense whatsoever" in light of how cheap Chinese stocks are right now, said Kevin O'Leary of O'Shares Investments.
  • "There's an economic war, technology war, regulation war going on with the United States — that too could be temporary," he said. "But frankly, these economies need each other, so to have no allocation to Chinese markets, makes no sense whatsoever."
  • He acknowledged that there are many political issues surrounding Chinese stocks, but described them as "noise."
Kevin O’Leary: If you own Amazon, why don't you own Alibaba?
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Kevin O’Leary: If you own Amazon, why don't you own Alibaba?

Avoiding the Chinese market is "crazy" and "makes no sense whatsoever" in light of how cheap Chinese stocks are right now, said Kevin O'Leary of O'Shares Investments.

According to him, that's thanks to these factors: the projected size of China's economic growth; a foreseeable end to regulatory disputes with the United States; and the interdependency of both economies.

"There's an economic war, technology war, regulation war going on with the United States — that too could be temporary," he said. "But frankly, these economies need each other, so to have no allocation to Chinese markets, makes no sense whatsoever."

"To have no allocation to the world's fastest-growing economy … is crazy," he said. "You've got to stomach volatility."

Chinese shares dropped sharply on Wednesday after indexes on Wall Street plunged following a higher-than-expected U.S. consumer price index report for August.

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Alibaba will not grow if there's a slowdown in China, says strategist

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dipped 2.36%, and the Hang Seng Tech index fell 2.76%. Mainland China's Shanghai Composite lost 0.78% and the Shenzhen Component fell 1.25%.

In August, Nomura and Goldman Sachs downgraded their forecasts for China's gross domestic product. Just last week, Nomura again cut its forecast.

China to become 'largest economy'

Nevertheless, O'Leary said there's "no question [that] the Chinese economy, over the next 20 to 25 years, is going to become the largest economy on earth," adding that "There's no stopping that and no denying it."

He acknowledged that there are many political issues surrounding Chinese stocks, but described them as "noise."

"I own China stocks. I have an index of them, particularly global internet behemoths, large companies like Alibaba," he said. 

"If you own Amazon, why don't you own Baba — The same idea. The Chinese are using online services the same way — Tencent, others, they're there because [their] consumers are demanding it."