China's baby stocks drop as population growth hopes wane
After data revealed that the population of the largest country in the world decreased for the first time in more than 60 years, stocks of baby products and fertility treatments in China plunged.
Ningbo David Medical Device Co, a manufacturer of incubators, fell as much as 11%, while Kidswant Children Products Co and Annil Co, producers of apparel, each fell more than 7%, Bloomberg has reported.
Both the formula manufacturer China Feihe Ltd and Jinxin Fertility Group Ltd saw declines of more than 3% in Hong Kong.
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According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China had 1.41 billion people as of the end of last year, which is 850,000 fewer than it did at the same time in 2021. The decrease is the first since 1961.
The Bloomberg report says the data confirm a weak outlook for China's population growth, despite family-friendly moves including a policy change to allow all couples to have a third child.
Baby and maternity stocks had been active since census data in 2021 showed the number of new births had fallen to the lowest in 60 years.
Investors bet that further tax breaks, better childcare services and looser home-purchase restrictions for larger families would serve as incentives.
Still, the number of women at childbearing age declined by about 4 million in 2022, compounding a drop in people's willingness to have children, Kang Yi, head of the statistics bureau, said after a briefing Tuesday.
