The Zhitong Finance App learned that on January 11, Citigroup announced its investment outlook. It is estimated that the Hang Seng Index will reach 19,000 points in the middle of the year and 1,800 points at the end of the year, corresponding to the predicted price-earnings ratio of 9.4 times and 8.9 times, respectively. Preferred stocks for Hong Kong stocks include Bank Entertainment (00027) and Tencent (00700).

According to Citigroup, there are quite a few voices in the market saying that the Hang Seng Index's valuation is lower than the average historical level, which may be a good opportunity to enter the market, but Liu Xianda, China stock strategist at Citigroup, believes this is reasonable because profit growth has already slowed down. According to Citibank data, the market now expects earnings per share of the Hang Seng Index to increase by 9.4% this year, a sharp drop from 17% last year.

In terms of Chinese stocks, Citi is particularly optimistic about technology-related sectors, as the central government is focusing on long-term structural reforms. Meanwhile, stocks benefiting from post-pandemic recovery, such as gaming, travel and travel-related stocks, are still expected to grow above average in the first half of the year. In addition, high-yield stocks in mainland China and Hong Kong can also be viewed as being on the high front line.

In terms of industry segments, Citi favors technology stocks that benefit from policy support, technology network stocks with profitable growth, shares related to consumption downgrades, and oil and gas stocks and telecommunications stocks that pay high interest rates. H-share preferred stocks include Bank Entertainment, Taobo (06110), AIA (01299), Tencent, and BYD (01211).