Prompted by lower interest rates on long-term bank deposits, Gong Jie, who works for an export firm in Shanghai, recently decided to invest half her savings in technology-focused mutual funds.
“A three-year deposit of mine at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) matured a month ago, but the current rates have almost halved from three years ago,” she said. “Normally, I would not put this capital into wealth management products due to risk concerns.
Life insurance products used to be my secondary option.
But inspired by the rally in AI-related stocks, I now want to give equity investment a try.”
Three-year time deposits at ICBC, China’s largest lender, now pay 1.55 per cent interest a year in Shanghai, down from nearly 3 per cent in 2023.
