In the 1980s, Tsingtao Brewery, the first listing of a Chinese company in overseas exchange, gained demand of shares amounting to over a hundred times more than what was being offered.

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The success of Tsingtao Brewery was a cause for enormous excitement and gave the country optimism regarding the Chinese market.

After the listing of Tsingtao Brewery, strong candidates such as Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical, Guangzhou Shipyard International and Maanshan Iron & Steel followed in Hong Kong afterwards for presentation to outside investors.

The companies were in need of global marketing access to raise funds of expansion. Listing in Hong Kong would also pressure them to modernize in order to meet international standards of disclosure and governance.

The wave of new listings was in the hopes that it would help China open up financially to the world.

Upon the twentieth anniversary of China's first big success, however, market observers stated that the stock now was far from the hyped expectations.

Well-known shareholder, David Webb, says that the Chinese Communist Party is the reason behind the stock falling short. The independent director of Hong Kong stock exchange and former investment banker shared that it has continued control over state-owned companies. He added that this was to subject them to what they viewed as market discipline.

Mr. Howie, who has worked in China since the stock market boom twenty years ago, says that one-party rule, turf wars between competing ministries and the general lack of genuine financial reform are the cause of the poor performance.

The present Chinese market has lost more than 30 percent of its value in 1992, according to the MSCI China Index, the country's reference indicator of market performance.

Comparing to China's economy, the Chinese market is falling behind. China is now the second largest economy having grown more than 1,700 percent over the years.

China has grown significantly over the past two decades in political, economic and diplomatic power. Playing an important role in the banking crisis of 2008, it is highly recognized for its contribution to global growth and financial markets.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong is now a major global financial center. Deals from China drive the stock market as most Hong Kong firms are already in listings. The Chinese companies in part are reason for Hong Kong's financial heavyweight success.

Despite doubts now about the efficiency of some Chinese companies used in investment funding, China still attracts the eyes of financial centers with its new listings and business.