Jump in February PMI, China’s $17 trillion GDP, Beijing Stock Exchange revenue and profit, Weibo takes a dive

Stocks in Hong Kong surged by the most in three months today on news that China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 52.6 in February, a jump of 2.5 percentage points from 50.1 in January.

China’s GDP in 2022 was 121.02 trillion yuan ($17.43 trillion), and per capita GDP was 85,698 yuan ($12,700), according to the National Bureau of Statistics, which means it nearly meets the high-income threshold set by the World Bank in 2021 at $13,205. There were 59 countries that reached that number that year. U.S. GDP per capita was $76,658 in 2022, an increase of $7,431 from 2021.

The 175 companies listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange reported collective total revenue for 2022 of 130.17 billion yuan ($18.75 billion), a year-on-year increase of 21.55%, and net profits of 12.34 billion yuan ($1.77 billion), an increase of 6.14%, with 162 companies making a profit. Launched in November 2021, the Beijing Stock Exchange has been hyped as a home for SMEs, but the exchange is struggling with the challenges of flagging investor enthusiasm and structural problems.

Social media platform Weibo reported 2022 annual revenue of 12.37 billion yuan ($1.84 billion), a decrease of 15% year-on-year, and net profit of $85.6 million, compared to $428.3 million in 2021. By the end of 2022, Weibo had 586 million active monthly users, an increase of 13 million year-on-year, and 252 million daily active users, an increase of 3 million.