China’s small-cap stocks have touched a two-and-a-half-year low as investors lose appetite for speculative bets on frothy sectors such as technology.

中国小盘股触及两年半低点，投资者对投机性押注于科技等估值偏高的板块失去了胃口。

IT makes up almost 40 per cent by market capitalisation of the Shenzhen-based ChiNext exchange, which was launched in 2009 and modelled on Wall Street’s Nasdaq as a home for start-ups in emerging sectors.

IT在深圳创业板(ChiNext)占到总市值的近40%。2009年推出的这个二板市场以华尔街的纳斯达克(Nasdaq)为模板，面向新兴行业的初创企业。

The Shanghai bourse, in contrast, is weighted towards old-economy stalwarts such as banks, property developers and manufacturers.

相比之下，上海证券交易所侧重于“旧经济”大牌企业，如银行、房地产开发商和制造商。

With 656 companies and a total market cap of Rmb4.6tn ($680bn), ChiNext is tiny compared with the main boards in Shanghai and Shenzhen, at Rmb35tn and Rmb22tn, respectively.

拥有656家上市公司、总市值为4.6万亿元人民币(合6800亿美元)的深圳创业板，与上海和深圳的主板市场相比规模很小，后两者的总市值分别为35万亿元人民币和22万亿元人民币。

But ChiNext is popular among speculators because small amounts of money can spark big movements.

但是，由于少量资金就足以引发股价大幅变动，深圳创业板在投机者中很受欢迎。

During China’s 2015 stock market boom-and-bust cycle, the ChiNext Composite index nearly tripled in less than six months before falling spectacularly.

在2015年中国股市大涨大跌期间，创业板综指(ChiNext Composite)先是在不到六个月时间里大涨近2倍，随后出现暴跌。

Investors are again growing sceptical of “concept stocks” with a strong growth narrative but less persuasive financials.

如今投资者再次对“概念股”持怀疑态度，这些股票有强劲的增长故事，但缺乏有说服力的财务数据。

The ChiNext Composite dropped 5.8 per cent on Monday and then fell to a 30-month low in early trade yesterday, before closing 0.6 per cent higher.

创业板综指周一下跌5.8%，昨日早盘进一步跌至30个月低位，收盘微升0.6%。

For the year the small-cap index is down 17 per cent, against a 2.7 per cent gain in the large cap-focused Shanghai Composite.

今年以来这个小盘股指数下跌17%，而偏重大盘股的上证综指(Shanghai Composite)上涨2.7%。

Nearly half the profit growth of companies on the ChiNext early this year came from acquisitions, according to Zhang Xia, analyst at China Merchants Securities in Shenzhen. That has led to scepticism about their capacity for organic growth.

招商证券(China Merchants Securities)在深圳的分析师张夏表示，今年初，创业板公司的盈利增长近一半来自收购。这令人怀疑其有机增长能力。

In addition, Chinese regulators have tightened approvals of follow-on share offerings, which have been commonly used to fund acquisitions since 2014. 此外，中国监管机构收紧了对后续发股的审批，这种操作自2014年以来被普遍用于为收购筹资。

“The government is no longer supportive of capital raising for acquisitions,” said Mr Zhang. “The number and size of acquisitions is falling. This pressure is now starting to bear on the market.”

“政府不再支持为收购而进行的筹资活动，”张夏表示。“收购的数量和规模正在下降。这个压力现在开始出现在市场上了。”

Expectations of further acquisitions had helped push typical price/earnings ratios up to 40 or 50, he added. But Mr Zhang said he expected the market to retreat gradually towards the historical norm of about 20.

他补充说，对于进一步收购的预期，此前帮助把典型的市盈率推高至40或50倍。但张夏表示，他预计市场将逐渐回归大约20倍的历史常态。

A related issue is the waning interest from speculators in listed shell companies, which have been targets for groups that are eager to list. Chinese regulators strictly control the flow of initial public offerings in Shanghai and Shenzhen, leading to hundreds of companies queueing — often for years — for the privilege of issuing new shares.

一个相关的问题是投机者对上市壳公司兴趣下降，这类公司此前是急于上市的集团的目标。中国监管机构严格控制上海和深圳的首次公开发行(IPO)流量，导致数百家公司排队等候(往往一等就是几年)发行新股的“特权”。

Backdoor listings have become a popular way for companies to get round the backlog.

借壳上市已成为企业规避排队的一种流行方式。

However, in the past year regulators have accelerated IPO approvals on ChiNext, reducing the value of would-be shell companies and deterring potential speculators.

然而，在过去一年里，监管机构加快了对创业板IPO的审批，此举降低了潜在壳公司的价值，阻止了潜在的投机者。

An additional headwind is the impending end to lock-up periods on new shares issued by ChiNext companies since 2014 as part of acquisition deals.

另一个不利于行情的因素是，作为收购交易的一部分，自2014年以来针对创业板公司发行的新股的锁定期即将结束。

The typical lock-up period is three years, so a wave of new shares is set to hit the market over the next year.

典型的锁定期是三年，所以一波新股票将在未来一年流入市场。