Infrastructure investment has been a great source of interest for investors in the wake of Donald Trump’s election as US president, with his campaign pledge to spend US$1 trillion on US infrastructure projects clearly playing on their minds. Away from President Trump’s Twitter feed and speeches, China is a more pressing concern.

While the country is trying to rebalance to become a more consumption-driven economy, overcapacity in the construction industry remains a big issue. The country is considerably overbuilt in relation to GDP. Worryingly, if a slowdown in GDP growth occurs, we expect the Chinese government to try to plug the gap with further building. As such, with overcapacity remaining a problem and rebalancing of the economy continuing, we believe it is best to avoid businesses related to Chinese construction, including materials and building companies.

Nick Moss – Newton, a BNY Mellon company