Michael Burry defies market trends with contrarian bets on Chinese tech giants Alibaba and JD.com

In a bold move reminiscent of his Big Short fame, money manager Michael Burry doubled down on Chinese tech giants Alibaba and JD.com despite a deepening rout in Chinese shares. Alibaba now tops Scion Asset Management's portfolio, reflecting a 50% boost in stake. However, the contrarian bets are facing headwinds, with both stocks down year-to-date amid a broader sell-off in Chinese equities. Burry previously bet on these firms in 2022, closed positions in 2023, and reopened them later. Amidst a $6.5 trillion market value wipeout, Burry's strategic moves stand out in a challenging China market..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..By Jacob Gu.Michael Burry, the money manager made famous in the Big Short, added to wagers on Chinese tech giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and JD.com Inc. in recent months even as a rout in Chinese shares deepened. .___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Alibaba is now Scion Asset Management's top holding after Burry's investment company boosted its stake in the e-commerce giant by 50% in the period ended Dec. 31, according to the firm's most recent 13F filing. While the stake was only $5.81 million, it's a starkly contrarian bet on China's largest online retailer. Smaller rival JD.com Inc. was Scion's second biggest holding at $5.79 million after the firm increased its position by 75,000 shares. .So far the wagers are struggling to pan out. Alibaba is down 5% year-to-date and JD.com has tumbled almost 20% as global money managers unwind positions in Chinese stocks amid an ongoing property crisis and slowing growth. .Read more: Wall Street Is Going to Great Lengths to Avoid Chinese Equities.It's not the first time Burry, who rose to fame predicting the 2008 US housing crash, has bet on the companies..At the end of 2022 he snapped up shares of New York-listed Alibaba and JD.com as China was emerging from the pandemic. He ended up closing out his positions in the second quarter of 2023, only to reopen it months later..Read more: China's $6.3 Trillion Stock Rout Getting Uglier by the Day .As of Tuesday, some $6.5 trillion of market value had been wiped out of Chinese and Hong Kong stocks from a 2021 peak, underscoring the challenge that Beijing faces as it seeks to arrest a decline in investor confidence. .Foreign investors have been relentlessly selling China's onshore equities in the new year. Global funds offloaded 14.5 billion yuan ($2 billion) worth of shares on a net basis in January via trading links with Hong Kong, extending their selling to a record sixth month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg..US-based money manager GW&K Investment Management LLC, which made a big bet on China, closed its emerging-markets equity fund last month. Top Chinese macro hedge fund Banxia slashed stock positions last month as the rout deepened, taking losses after acknowledging mistakes betting on a rapid economic recovery..Read More: Burry Covers Bearish Semis Wager, Buys Health and Tech Stocks.Burry wasn't the only fund manager buying up Alibaba shares last quarter. The company was the biggest new buy for the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. On the flip side, Tiger Global Management exited its position in the retailer, selling 1.48 million shares worth $128 million..Burry's firm, meanwhile, dropped all its bearish positions in the quarter and instead snapped up shares across industries including health care, financials and of course tech..Read also:.🔒 FT – Naspers/Prosus alert: Are Chinese stocks a value trade or a value trap?🔒 Federal Reserve to set market pace more than ever in 2024 – Mark GilbertActive vs Passive investing: $100 trillion money managers confront the end of the bull market era.© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Michael Burry defies market trends with contrarian bets on Chinese tech giants Alibaba and JD.com

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