{"slug": "china-fund-managers-stick-with-ai-chips-in-august-despite-july-sell-off-survey", "title": "China fund managers stick with AI, chips in August despite July sell-off, survey finds", "summary": "AI and chips remained China's most preferred investment themes in August, with 73% of surveyed fund managers picking them, up from 60% in July, according to BofA Global Research's August Asia Fund Manager Survey of 98 participants managing US$272 billion. Defensive stocks with buy-backs or dividends rose to 27% from 16%, and 59% of Asian fund managers hedged against AI-related stock declines, more than double the prior month.", "body_md": "# China fund managers stick with AI, chips in August despite July sell-off, survey finds\n\nInvestor interest in defensive shares also surges across Asia as more try to hedge against the downside risks of AI investments\n\nDespite July’s sharp sell-off in global semiconductor shares, driven by concerns over AI-linked profitability, artificial intelligence and chips remained China’s most preferred investment themes in August, while more investors moved to hedge tech exposure, according to a survey by BofA Global Research.\n\nThe findings come from the August edition of the Asia Fund Manager Survey, for which Bank of America’s researchers polled 98 participants across the region from August 7 to 13. The respondents represented US$272 billion worth of assets under management.\n\nIn China, 73 per cent of surveyed fund managers picked AI and chips as one of their two favourite themes, even higher than July’s 60 per cent and June’s 50 per cent.\n\nStocks featuring share buy-backs or dividend payments ranked as the second most popular theme, with 27 per cent of China-based fund managers selecting them – a sharp rise from 16 per cent in July.\n\nIt came after global semiconductor shares tumbled in July on market concerns about potential disappointment in AI monetisation. In the US, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell about 21 per cent in July – its worst monthly performance since October 2008. In Hong Kong, GigaDevice Semiconductor’s stock fell from HK$1,188 (US$151) to HK$459 in July.\n\nThe growing preference for defensive stocks in China appears in line with a broader shift across Asia, where 59 per cent of surveyed fund managers said they were hedging against the risk of a decline in AI-related stocks, more than double the level reported a month prior, according to the survey findings.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/china-fund-managers-stick-with-ai-chips-in-august-despite-july-sell-off-survey", "canonical_source": "https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3364550/china-fund-managers-stick-ai-chips-august-despite-july-sell-survey-finds?utm_source=rss_feed", "published_at": "2026-08-19 08:13:55+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-19 08:41:23.692057+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence"], "entities": ["BofA Global Research", "Bank of America", "Philadelphia Semiconductor Index", "GigaDevice Semiconductor"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/china-fund-managers-stick-with-ai-chips-in-august-despite-july-sell-off-survey", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/china-fund-managers-stick-with-ai-chips-in-august-despite-july-sell-off-survey.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/china-fund-managers-stick-with-ai-chips-in-august-despite-july-sell-off-survey.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/china-fund-managers-stick-with-ai-chips-in-august-despite-july-sell-off-survey.jsonld"}}