Investing in China: the how and why of it

With China's stock market rallying after a decade of underperformance, should Indian investors look beyond domestic markets for diversification?

- Jash Kriplani

Even as Indian stock markets go through a rough patch, Chinese equities have rebounded after lagging for around a decade. Global investors are looking to ride this rally. Over the past 10 years, the Shanghai SE Composite Index rose just 2.5%. However, the Chinese government's stimulus measures to boost domestic consumption and DeepSeek's AI model lifted the sentiment. China's benchmark index has delivered 12.55% returns over the past one year compared with a 1.8% rise in the Nifty 50 during the period in terms of local currency.

Trading volumes of iShares China Large-Cap ETF, which tracks Chinese blue-chip stocks, swelled 2.8 times in February, according to data from global investing platform Vested Finance.

In this series on global investing, we explore how Indians can invest in different geographies. Here is a look at the investment routes available for local investors looking to participate in the Chinese markets.

Mutual funds Edelweiss Greater China Equity Off-shore Fund and Axis Greater China Equity FoF are two funds of funds open for Indian investors. For Edelweiss's fund, the lumpsum investment limit is 1 lakh a day, per PAN (permanent account number) and that also applies to monthly systematic investment plans (SIPs). The fund had 1,946 crore in assets under management (AUM) as on 13 February. The Axis Greater China Equity FoF is fully open without investment limits. Its AUM stood at ₹445 crore as of 12 February 2025.

As an FoF, Edelweiss fund feeds into JPMorgan Greater China Fund while the Axis fund feeds into the Schroder International Selection Fund Greater China. Capital gains from the funds will be taxed as long-term capital gains at 12.5% if the investment is held for more than two years, and if held for less, short-term gains are taxed at the income tax slab rate of an investor.