Apr 22, 2011

China Is Rife With Over Investment In Physical Capital

China is rife with over investment in physical capital, infrastructure and property. To a visitor, this is evident in sleek but empty airports and bullet trains (which will reduce the need for the 45 planned airports), highways to nowhere, thousands of colossal new central and provincial government buildings, ghost towns and brand-new aluminium smelters kept closed to prevent global prices from plunging.

Eventually, most likely after 2013, China will suffer a hard landing. All historical episodes of excessive investment – including East Asia in the 1990s – have ended with a financial crisis and/or a long period of slow growth. - in Project Syndicate

Related: iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (ETF) (FXI), Morgan Stanley China A Share Fund, Inc. (CAF), PowerShares Gld Drg Haltr USX China(ETF) (PGJ), Aluminum Corp. of China Limited (ADR) (ACH)