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The worst may be over for China, says former FTSE chief

Photo taken on Aug. 19, 2021 shows a stock market trend, Shiyan, Hubei Province, China.
Costfoto | Barcroft Media | Getty Images
  • China and Hong Kong markets will continue to grow, says former FTSE chief Mark Makepeace as he remains long term bullish on China.
  • Growth will come back to China next year, but that is dependent on more aggressive stimulus, says Makepeace.

China may continue to see some market volatility but the worst has passed, the former head of benchmark giant FTSE Russell said.

"China has had success, and will become an important investment venue going forward, but in the short term, China does have some issues. We're not seeing the sort of growth in the market we've seen in the past, but the potential is there," Mark Makepeace, who is now the chief executive officer of Wilshire Indexes, told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia."

Makepeace said he is bullish in the long term on China and Hong Kong markets and is confident that they will continue to grow. He added that growth will come back to China next year, but that depends on the government and whether it will be more aggressive in terms of stimulus.

The country is expected to report third-quarter gross domestic product on Wednesday. Economists expect third-quarter GDP growth of 4.4%, according to a Reuters poll.

On Monday, China's central bank kept its medium-term lending facility rate unchanged at 2.5% in an effort to boost liquidity support for its banking system.

China's economy has struggled to come to grips with long-standing problems including slowing economic growth and weakening global demand for its products, especially against the backdrop of a flagging property sector.

Investors now await more economic readings as China is also set to report September retail sales on Wednesday.

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