Why are Chinese companies flooding the NYSE?
This is the cynic’s view — and it also happens to be true. Do you think that China Yuchai (NYSE: CYD), which owns 75% of a diesel engine market in China (ownership of which the local government recently tried to declare illegal) cares what you think, and thus decided to give you the opportunity to invest? No, no, heck no. (I can even prove that it doesn’t: China Yuchai is owned 25% by Hong Leong Asia, which has a “golden share” that allows it to not even consider what outside investors think.) Even the good Chinese companies like PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) and Ctrip.com (Nasdaq: CTRP) make it clear in their filings that your votes don’t really matter. For better or worse, China has an economy that’s simply too big and growing too quickly to ignore. For better, there will be many fortunes made in China. For worse, if you ever get the chance to talk with someone who has done accounting or auditing work in China, you’ll understand that there is likely a high level of, uh, inexactitude in the
