(Yicai Global) June 5 -- Overseas investors’ enthusiasm for the Chinese stock markets is growing, as the country’s economy continues to go from strength to strength and as regulators make it easier for companies to go public with the roll out of the registration-based initial public offering system across all bourses, experts said at a recent financial forum.

The importance of China’s capital markets is self-evident as an increasing number of global investors are participating in the stock markets, Zhang Yiming, a member of the global equity management committee at China International Capital Corp., said at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's 2023 Global Investor Conference. As the world's second-biggest economy, China provides long-term investment opportunities for investors.

Offshore investors are interested in mainland stocks as they can see that many Chinese firms are growing rapidly and have high tech and innovation abilities, said Terry Pan, chief executive officer of China, Southeastern Asia and South Korea at US investment firm Invesco.

"I have lived in Hong Kong for a long time and fully recognize that China is the engine of economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region," Pan said. China's real economy is a crucial 'ballast stone,' he added.

International long-term funds' positioning of mainland stocks is on the rise, Wang Zonghao, head of equity strategy research at UBS China, said in a recent research note. The proportion of mainland stocks in terms of total Chinese assets held by some funds has reached 30 percent.

Overseas investors are encouraged by the news, announced in February, that the China Securities Regulatory Commission plans to roll out the registration-based IPO system, which is much quicker than the approval-based one, to all mainland bourses soon.

Global asset managers and investors welcome the reform of the full registration-based IPO system, Junjie Watkins, chief executive officer for the Asia region with the exception of Japan at Switzerland’s Pictet Asset Management.

The full registration-based IPO system, progress on Environmental, Social & Governance matters, reform of state-owned enterprises and other measures are making overseas investors more enthusiast about entering the Chinese capital market, said Liu Zehua, director of the channel and strategy development equity products department at HSBC China.

Financial performance, return on investment and other indicators are very important when choosing investment targets on the mainland, said Thijs Aaten, CEO at APG Asset Management Asia. The full registration-based IPO system helps in this as it improves information disclosure by listed firms.

Editors: Shi Yi, Kim Taylor