China ‘Metaverse’ Shares Tumble After State Media Warning, Regulators Attention

SHANGHAI, Sept. 9 (Reuters) – Chinese stocks spotted with links to “Metaverse,” a virtual shared space based on virtual reality technologies, slumped Thursday after their recent surge raised regulatory eyebrows and prompted state media to not to invest in it.

Investing is not a virtual game and investors who buy Chinese stocks in hopes of profiting from Metaverse are likely to burst into tears, the official Chinese Securities Times warned in a commentary on Thursday.

If people “invest blindly in such a grand and illusionary concept as Metaverse, they will eventually be burned,” it said.

The comment came a day after the Shenzhen Stock Exchange sent a letter to Zhejiang Jinke Culture Industry Co (300459.SZ) requesting the mobile internet company to substantiate its claim that it has the customer base to buy Metaverse products. develop.

The exchange also asked whether the company — whose stock prices rose about 35% this week — played a role in boosting its own shares with the popular concept.

Most Metaverse-related stocks plunged Thursday morning.

Wondershare Technology (300624.SZ) and Wahlap Technology (301011.SZ) both fell more than 10%, while Goertek (002241.SZ) lost more than 8%. AVIT Ltd (300264.SZ) plunged 13%, while Perfect World (002624.SZ) lost 5%.

China’s chief securities regulator, Yi Huisman, told a conference Monday that stock markets should have a better understanding of investor behavior in the Internet age.

Yi’s comment comes amid heightened concerns about Chinese regulators as Beijing launched a wave of crackdowns this year against sectors ranging from tech to private tuition.

Shenzhen Zhongqingbao Interaction Network (300052.SZ), whose shares rose more than 60% this week after the company publicly posted an article about Metaverse, said in a filing on Wednesday that it is still in the early stages of exploring the company, and warned investors against risks.

The Securities Times commentary on Thursday also pointed to risks for investors.

“It’s important for investors to see the difference between real trends and nice ‘bubbles’.”

Reporting by Samuel Shen and Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Stephen Coates and Ana Nicolaci da Costa

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