Bridgewater dumps US-listed China holdings amid trade tensions
Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, unloaded all of its US-listed Chinese equities in the second quarter, marking a significant pivot in its investment strategy as trade frictions between Washington and Beijing deepened.
According to a US regulatory filing on Wednesday, the Connecticut-based firm offloaded its entire positions in roughly 16 Chinese companies and two China-focused exchange-traded funds, worth nearly US$1.5 billion in total. The disclosure, required quarterly for investment managers’ US equity holdings, does not cover Bridgewater’s investments in Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong or onshore mainland exchanges.
The biggest disposals from April to June included 5.7 million shares in e-commerce heavyweight Alibaba, 2.8 million in JD.com, and 2 million in search engine Baidu. At the same time, the hedge fund boosted its stakes in major US tech names such as Nvidia, Alphabet, and Microsoft.
Bridgewater, founded about five decades ago by billionaire Ray Dalio, a long-time proponent of investing in China, launched its onshore China fund in 2018, growing assets to roughly 50 billion yuan (US$6.96 billion). Dalio exited his remaining stake in the firm last month.
The retreat from US-listed Chinese assets comes after US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs exceeding 100% on Chinese imports in early April, prompting retaliatory measures from Beijing. The escalating trade dispute rattled global markets, triggering steep sell-offs in both US and Chinese equities.
Concerns are also growing among investors about the potential forced delisting of Chinese companies from US exchanges.
($1 = 7.1807 yuan)
Reuters
