With Chinese Stock Markets At All-Time High, Why Aren't China Stocks On US Exchanges?

This is a mystery, so if you are looking for an answer, skip this section of the test and go to the next question. The Shanghai Composite hit an all-time record yesterday. It has come all the way back from the correction two weeks ago, plus some and stands at 3,071. A year ago, it was at 1,295.

So, what happened to all of the Chinese companies that trade on US exchanges?

Let’s take Baidu (BIDU), the big Chinese search engine. It trades at $101, well down from its 52-week high of $134. Sina (SINA)? At $33.94, below its 52-week high of $37.73. China Mobile (CHL). It’s at $46.28, off its 52-week high of $51.78.

China Life (LFC) is well below its 52-week high of $57.85 and currently trades at $43.06. China Petroleum & Chemical (SNP) has a 52-week high of $95.50. It now changes hands at $80.43.

Maybe the markets aren’t so efficient.

Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securites in companies that he writes about.