China Sports Stocks Bounce as Marathon Fuels Reopening Hopes

Anta Sports Products Ltd. and Fila Korea Ltd. sportswear is displayed on mannequins in an exhibition area at the company's factory in Jinjiang, Fujian, China, on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019. Western companies still dominate China's $43 billion domestic sports apparel market, where Nike's share is almost 23%, Adidas holds 20% and Anta is third, with 15%. Anta President James Zheng predicts it will be the country's dominant sportswear brand by 2025. The rest of the world will get to know it, too, he says. One reason: Two years ago, NBA star Klay Thompson agreed to a 10-year, $80 million extension of his endorsement deal with the company. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

Charlotte Yang, Bloomberg News

Oct 5, 2022

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(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Chinese sportswear makers climbed as investors bet that a Beijing marathon might signal an easing of pandemic restrictions that have hurt consumer demand.

The Beike Beijing Marathon will be held November 6, with only qualified local residents allowed to participate, according to state media reports. With slots for 30,000 runners, it will be one of the largest public events in the capital since the Winter Olympics in February.

The nation’s leading sportswear firms Li Ning Co Ltd., Anta Sports Products Ltd. and Xtep International Holdings Ltd. jumped more than 9% each, set for their best day in months. The trio are all still down more than 20% this year on challenges from lockdowns to weakening economic growth.

Chinese Sportswear Stocks Climb as Winter Olympics Boost Outlook

The marathon is “the type of positive signal that we are looking for,” Morgan Stanley analysts including Dustin Wei and Carol Xia wrote in a note Tuesday. They see the risk-reward balance for Li Ning and Anta as favorable, as “downside could be limited in the short term while upside could be substantial should there be signals of changes in Covid policy.”

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