China Defends Markets as Swoon Spurs Foreign Fund Exodus

(Bloomberg) — China is pushing back against investor pessimism and shoring up support for its embattled markets.

The nation’s central bank vowed Wednesday to use various tools to keep liquidity reasonably ample, while local fund managers rushed to placate bond investors after a pickup in debt market losses.

In the offshore market, Hong Kong-traded companies are stepping up share buybacks to lift valuations, while China’s biggest companies are set to pay out record dividends of 1.5 trillion yuan ($206 billion) this year to revive sentiment sapped by an exodus of overseas investors.