At least from countries where the government is subsidizing their products. See https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3789661/posts?page=92#92
Semiconductor stocks are set to rally for a second straight day, as investors continued betting on China’s increasing state investment in the cutting-edge field to compete with global tech powers.
“As traditional sectors such as real estate have entered a downward cycle, the market has been looking for new growth spots among technology and computer stocks,” said Yang Xiaolei, a Shanghai-based independent market analyst.
“Now the government policy is clearly supportive of homegrown technology shares ... so the enthusiasm over semiconductors is likely to continue into next year, making such stocks one of the most important sectors to look at in the first quarter,” he said.
China has roughly doubled its industrial subsidies since 2013, with further increases expected this year, creating a massive sticking point for the next phase of trade negotiations with the U.S.
The Chinese government doled out 156.2 billion yuan ($22.4 billion) of subsidies in 2018 to companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, Nikkei has found, based on data from financial research firm Wind.
The tally amounts to about 5% of total net profit earned by mainland China's publicly traded enterprises last year. Subsidies increased 15% on the year for the first nine months of 2019, with more than 90% of the 3,748 businesses included in the calculations receiving something.
Subsidies and low-interest loans are two main tools China uses to support its industries. The World Trade Organization bans corporate subsidies designed to bolster exports and requires reporting for all other subsidies. But China has reported very little and is believed to be in violation of WTO rules in many cases.
The U.S. has demanded that China scrap these subsidies in order to level the playing field, but Beijing is not budging. “The Communist Party leadership draws its authority from the distribution of wealth, and fundamental change will be difficult,” said Shinichi Seki of the Japan Research Institute.