Former Evergrande economist faces WeChat gag order after ‘buy the dip’ call
Amid a bear market in China’s stock exchanges, Ren Zeping, the high-profile independent economist famed for his prescient call on China’s A-share bull market, is once again in the spotlight for a “gag order” on his social media, though industry insiders say that the move by the platform was not unexpected. Since October 24, Ren Zeping’s WeChat official account “Zeping Macro” could no longer be…
Ren Zeping, a renowned economist known for predicting China's A-share bull market, now faces a WeChat gag order on his social media accounts. Since October 24, his official "Zeping Macro" WeChat account and video account have become inaccessible to new subscribers, with a system message stating they were blocked due to rule violations.
Ren's latest WeChat video, uploaded on October 23, recommended "buying the dip" in A-shares, which may have triggered the restrictions. As a former researcher at the Development Research Centre of the State Council, his "buy the dip" statement likely prompted the blocks, according to experts. One investor, using the handle "Yanwang", reported losing over 10 million yuan (US$1.5 million) after following Ren's forecast and claimed his life was ruined.
The ChiNext Index in Shenzhen, a tech-heavy gauge, lost more than 43% from its June peak by the close of Friday. In September 2014, before the Shanghai Composite Index reached 5,000 points, Ren predicted it would hit 5,000, propelling him to fame. However, the index later tumbled, and Ren became chief economist at Evergrande Research Institute from 2017 to 2021.
Industry insiders describe him as an influencer rather than an economist, as he mastered the art of generating traffic.
Written by urgent.news from SCMP Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
