A near 20 percent correction in four weeks has wiped $700 billion off the Shanghai Stock Exchange, making global investors nervous about a possible China meltdown. Considering the 132% run of the Shanghai Composite in 2006 and a subsequent 125 percent run in 2007 before the current pullback, a bubble theory has ample room to develop. The question is this. Is there a bubble and if so how to hedge against that?

We are bullish on Chinese stocks. It seems to us however that average American investors got a distaste of China after the 9 percent plunge in Shanghai on February 26 that sent global equity markets south. As a result, March has been a very quiet month for us, stock researchers, while this was the time stock research would have been needed the most. We will get back to this later.

Mr. Alan Greenspan is still a heavyweight. Some secondary remarks from the former FED Chairman, e.g. the U.S. is showing signs of recession, shook global equity markets overnight.

Earnings announcements are one of the most important moments for public companies. This is a bonanza for fundamental analysts who can x-ray the companies by examining these financial statements.

Liquidity, or the ability to buy and sell large blocks without effecting the share price, is perhaps the most important factor for institutional investors in choosing where to execute their trades. Looking at the Chinese stock universe from an American investor’s point of view, there are three markets that investors would consider: the NYSE, the NASDAQ and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Investing in Shanghai and Shenzen is still limited for foreigners and is further complicated by corporate accounting differences and information asymmetry.

Based on the enthusiastic feedback we received from several of our clients, we attempt to use the same methodology to give a unique analysis of the NASDAQ listed Chinese stock universe. What makes our analysis very relevant is that seventeen liquid Chinese NASDAQ names reported quarterly earnings in the month of May, 2006.

I can’t help but quote from our February Newsletter, page 4 last paragraph. “Based on our latest field trip to China, Chinavestor.com expects The9 Ltd. (NCTY) to report a nice surprise. On the other hand, we did not see much activity of Shanda’s line of products and expect the battled game and home entertainment developer to slip.” End of quote. So when Shanda released earnings after the close on February 27th, disappointing news did not surprise us. China’s top online game operator said it swung to a quarterly loss and missed Wall Street revenue targets as online game sales weakened, sending its shares down 19 percent after hours.

I can’t help but quote from our February Newsletter, page 4 last paragraph. “Based on our latest field trip to China, Chinavestor.com expects The9 Ltd. (NCTY) to report a nice surprise. On the other hand, we did not see much activity of Shanda’s line of products and expect the battled game and home entertainment developer to slip.” End of quote.

Chinavestor noticed when China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd. (CHL), the world’s biggest wireless carrier, announced on Dec 13, 2005 that it is seeking to sell shares domestically to complement Hong Kong and New York listings. And again when Aluminum Corp. of China (ACH), the world’s second largest alumina producer, announced plans to take its A-share companies private, paving a way for its own listing in mainland China. The Company will need a total of more than 5.6 billion yuan ($694 million) to buy the shares it does not own in it’s A-share units.

Chinavestor “Stock of the month” ends up 5.2% in 2005 and is up 55.6% since inception, despite the fact that China’s booming economy failed to translate into stock-market gains. Defying rises in oil prices and interest rates, Asia stocks rose as domestic economies picked up and foreign funds sought cheap valuations. But the country level performances were far from uniform with indices in the greater China region at the bottom of the list.

Chinese Companies have come a long way compared to even a year ago. It used to be hard to find relevant information about financials, quarterly reports submitted to the Exchanges on time were the exceptions.

Even though China’s economy continues to boom, to transform that into the green in our own pocket, is a different story. Investors have to remember that not economic growth but corporate earnings are driving stock prices. For the most part, of course. In addition to current earnings, seasoned analysts have to be able to differentiate between high– and low-quality earnings.

On a quiet Wednesday, August 31st, China Telecom (CHA) Corp. Ltd., China’s last major NYSE listed player reported earnings. The market hardly noticed as investors worried about high oil prices and news of a hefty share sale by PetroChina (PTR). For us, however, this quiet day was much more. We can now kick back and get a sense of what is going on in China, in micro level. Because we all know that economic growth doesn’t necessarily translate into steady stock-market gains, and the Chinese market faces numerous challenges, ranging from company scandals and limited corporate disclosure to efforts by the government to sell its large stake in Chinese companies without hurting the share prices.