China weighs Wall Street8217;s risks

8220;Crisis is a good opportunity for buying cheap assets,8221; said Mei Xinyu, a leading researcher at a Ministry of Commerce-backed think tank.

Morgan Stanley8217;s market value shrank to USD 24.1 billion this week, he said, adding: 8220;It8217;s cheap indeed.8221;

But he also cautioned China has much to consider before plunging in, from the real value of US institutions and the risk that Washington will restrict management and voting rights.

China has already been burned by investing in Wall Street. America8217;s finance centre was the CIC8217;s first shopping stop after it was established last year to invest part of China8217;s USD 1.8 trillion in foreign reserves.

The stake they bought in private equity group Blackstone and a 9.9 per cent holding in Morgan Stanley are now worth less than half what they paid 8212; USD 3 billion and 5 billion respectively.

8220;The collapse of Lehman Brothers doesn8217;t mean the bottom of the market,8221; said Shen Hongpu, an analyst for Cinda Asset Management Corp. 8220;There8217;s still a couple of months to go and more trouble ahead.8221;