IT wasn't long ago that hedge funds were preparing for one of the biggest openings into China in years. In November, foreign investors were for the first time able to buy and sell shares listed in the Shanghai market directly. It was a chance to ride the great China bull run.
How times have changed.
Over the last month, trillions of dollars of value were wiped from the domestic market as stocks plunged by more than a third. The Chinese government has stepped in, issuing a series of increasingly aggressive moves to prop up the market.
Hedge funds are now reassessing their positions and questioning the role of the government in China's stock market.
O'Connor, a US$5.6 billion hedge fund owned by UBS,...