Liz Mak at the Asian Investor writes:

"Will China falter after the Beijing Olympics?" nervous investors ask.

Anyone with exposure to A-shares as well as to H-shares and red-chips has heard the conventional wisdom that the China equities story will run out of steam this summer or autumn, after the feel-good hype of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games exhausts itself and the nation wakes up to a hangover of pollution, exorbitantly expensive showcase architectural white elephants, and ornery city-dwellers angry at losing their home to the latest ring road development.

The post-Olympic bust has some precedent. The municipal governments of Montreal and Athens found themselves in debt and never made good on the investment promise of hosting the games. With the A-share market having performed so strongly for two years, it is common to hear people proclaim the China bull run will end once this last burst of patriotic sports adrenaline runs its course. This sort of thing is quoted not only by the average punter on the street but by seasoned finance professionals too.

To read more:

http://www.asianinvestor.net/article.aspx?CIaNID=68272&eid=13&edate=20081801&eaddr=joonian.wong@sinomedia.net