Hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio says benefits of investing in China outweigh risks

Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of the world’s largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, said investing in China is a good idea despite the risks, because Chinese assets are cheap and can help balance portfolios.

“Diversification and investment in China is desirable,” Dalio said in a virtual presentation at the Greenwich Economic Forum in Hong Kong on Wednesday. “Chinese assets are very attractively priced.”

There are concerns among international investors about potentially being penalised by their governments for investing in the country, with anti-China policies set to gain bipartisan support in the US election this year, he said. Meanwhile, China’s own economic problems, including its protracted real estate crisis, debt issues and the knock-on effects of those, are also making investors anxious.

“There are certainly effective ways to make investments in China” despite the challenges, and Bridgewater has “done very well” over the last five years operating there, he said.

The long-term China bull’s latest remarks follow his endorsement of the country’s battered markets earlier this year.