The speed of adjustment to information: Evidence from the Chinese stock market

This paper examines the speed of price adjustment in Chinese A- and B-share stock markets. We use a VAR model to show that A-shares, which are owned primarily by domestic individual investors, adjust to information faster than do B-shares, which are owned primarily by foreign institutional investors. Our analysis of firm characteristics suggests that the speed of stock price adjustment for A-shares is related to earnings per share, while that for B-shares is related to firm size. We also find that A-shares react more quickly to bad news, while B-shares react more quickly to good news. The difference in the speed of adjustment between A- and B-shares decreased following the liberalization of financial policy in February 2001, which allowed domestic investors to purchase B-shares.