stock markets in both Shanghai and in Hong Kong had a record year in 2007, and became forces in the global economy according to the China Post.



"In February, for the first time ever, a plunge in Chinese stocks triggered a global market sell-off, suggesting the potential sway this heretofore ignored market will have in years to come," a post article reported. February's surprise, that China's markets can now trigger response on world markets, wasn't the only measure of the new found influence of the Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges.

The Post reported that

In another sign of China's growing market muscle, Shanghai became the second most popular place for initial public offerings behind New York as companies raised $48.62 billion through November, according to the World Federation of Exchanges.

That surpassed the US$31.81 billion raised in IPOs in Hong Kong and the US$43.47 billion chalked up in London during the 11-month period, the federation's numbers show. Only the New York Stock Exchange, with US$52.06 billion, had more.

On the year, the Shanghai Composite was up an incredible 97% and Hong Kong's blue chips were up 39%.

Shanghai is largely closed to outside investors. Foreign investors can buy limited quantities of yuan-denominated A-shares through "qualified foreign institutional investors.", or QFII's. Total QFII investment is now capped at US$10 billion. That cap is supposed to triple in the near future, though, opening the red hot Shanghai exchange to more outside investors.