China Construction Bank has overtaken JPMorgan, Facebook and Chevron in terms of size, a sign of how a dramatic stock market rally in Hong Kong is reshaping the league table of the world’s largest companies.
The surge has come even as Chinese economic indicators worsen. China’s exports slumped 15 per cent in March, raising the prospect of disappointing first-quarter economic growth.
The market capitalisation of Hong Kong-listed shares set a new record yesterday, passing the HK$30tn mark for the first time to close at HK$30.55tn (US$3.9tn). The Hong Kong share market has risen 17.6 per cent in the past month, making it the best performer in the world this year outside the Chinese mainland.