Nicknames Blossom in China's Tech Renaissance

Singapore/Shanghai, Feb 19 (Reuters) - China's emerging tech titans are gaining monikers such as the "Six Little Dragons," "Seven Sisters," and the "Terrific Ten" as they engage in a battle against the U.S. tech giants, known as the "Magnificent Seven." The surge in Chinese tech stocks has spurred brokerages to come up with catchy nicknames to captivate retail investors' imaginations. Hong Kong's tech stocks are experiencing a significant surge, boosted by the excitement surrounding AI startups and recent interactions between President Xi Jinping and tech industry leaders, notably Alibaba's founder Jack Ma, signaling implicit state support. This surge has propelled the Hang Seng index close to the top of the list of best-performing major markets this year and has put prominent stocks alongside the U.S.'s "Magnificent Seven." "Haitong Securities" predicted potential emerging stars in the fields of artificial intelligence, chip manufacturing, and high-end production, hinting at companies like Tencent, Alibaba, Xiaomi, and BYD. The "Terrific Ten" gained attention last year as formerly disregarded stocks made a comeback. Jeff Weniger, from WisdomTree Asset Management, acknowledged their performance to be outshining the "Magnificent Seven," identifying key players such as Alibaba, JD.com, Geely, BYD, Xiaomi, Tencent, NetEase, Baidu, Meituan, and SMIC. These companies have driven the Hang Seng Tech index to nearly a 70% increase over the past year, eclipsing the 27% growth of the Nasdaq. The "Magnificent Seven" comprises Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla, a term coined by Bank of America's Michael Hartnett in May 2023, inspired by the 1960 Western film featuring seven gunslingers. Andrew Xia from Shangshan Capital Group mentioned that the "Terrific Ten" might have roots in a series of novels by British author David Walliams, possibly referencing a team of Chinese superheroes from the DC Comics Universe. On another note, UBS refers to eight AI-driven Chinese stocks as "VENUS Eight," and among unlisted firms, DeepSeek stands out as one of the six "Little Dragon" startups from Hangzhou.