INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
More investors are betting on China's economic rebound as a key driver for emerging markets, with optimism rising sharply driven by stronger
policy support, according to HSBC's latest survey.The bank's Emerging Markets Sentiment Survey for March found that 45 percent of
investors now see China's recovery as the biggest upside factor in the emerging market outlook, a significant jump from just 29 percent in
December.The survey, conducted between January 24 and March 12, polled 126 investors from 125 institutions overseeing a combined $439
billion in assets under management in emerging markets."Investors are upbeat on China's growth prospects," said analysts led by Murat Ulgen,
HSBC's global head of emerging markets research in the report, according to the South China Morning Post."The latest set of announcements
from Chinese officials to stimulate the economy also seems to resonate with emerging-market investors," they said.A quarter of respondents
in the survey identified China as the emerging market economy most likely to deliver the strongest growth acceleration over the next 12
months, the highest share among all developing nations.China has made domestic demand the main engine and anchor of economic growth and
pledged measures, including doubling the issuance of ultra-long special treasury bonds to back its consumer goods trade-in program from the
scale last year.It has also recently unveiled a 30-point policy package to strengthen consumer confidence through a whole set of measures,
including promoting income growth, reducing financial burden, and boosting consumer spending.China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major
indicator of the country's consumption strength, reached over 8.37 trillion yuan (about $1.17 trillion) and climbed 4 percent year on year
in the first two months of 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
