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This is getting downvoted (perhaps due to the rough tone) but there's a lot of truth to it. It's part of a larger phenomenon that isn't limited to investing as
by chibg10 8y ago
This is getting downvoted (perhaps due to the rough tone) but there's a lot of truth to it. It's part of a larger phenomenon that isn't limited to investing as well. I think a lot of inexperienced outside observers of China from developed countries tend to miss that while some parts of China now have many of the trappings of developed nations, the rapid pace with which China has evolved means that they lack a lot of the knowledge that developed countries have about how to effectively manage/use these trappings.
Take driving for example. Cars are everywhere in Chinese streets these days, but most of them appeared in the last 10 years. Imagine being in a city where everyone is a new driver, and nobody's parents ever drove and thus couldn't teach them to drive. The same goes investment as well, and in many other areas.
This isn't to say that there aren't a lot of smart Chinese who read stuff on the internet/learned in school/figured it out on their own (there are), but the aggregate cultural knowledge level in a lot of things people in developed countries take for granted is often noticeably more undeveloped in China. They'll no doubt grow out of it with time though (and hopefully without any significant catastrophes).
- cm2187 8y agoThere is also a lot of institutional knowledge missing. The US knows since the 1929 crash that it is very dangerous to let retail investors buy stocks on margin and there are very strict rules to limit that. I understand buying stocks on margin was common for retail investors in China and greatly contributed to the volatility of the Chinese stock market.