Investors rush to borrow money for China’s stock markets

After a year of poor performance, China’s mainland stock markets rally is causing investors to rush to borrow funds. The Shanghai Composite Index is up 22.8% since the start of the year, said Caixin.

Outstanding margin debt by the market close on Friday had reached 796.2 billion yuan ($103.93 billion), a 12% increase since February 1, according to data from the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.

Money borrowed by investors has been used primarily to buy shares in brokerages, insurance companies and telecommunication companies, according to the financial information platform iFind.