Invest Like An NBA Owner: Exploring Your Options In The Chinese Market

NBA team ownership is a ticket into one of the most exclusive fraternities in the world. Michael Jordan, Mickey Arison and Joe Tsai are all multibillion-dollar businessmen and owners of various NBA franchises. They saw NBA team ownership as a lucrative investment and many have made a lot of money off of that investment. 

The NBA And China: But NBA team ownership isn’t their only investment. Many are familiar with Cuban’s story, Ballmer’s run with Microsoft Corporation MSFT, Jordan’s brand and his partnership with Nike Inc NKE. But, what you may not be as familiar with are their investments in the Chinese market.

Walt Disney Co DIS-owned ESPN recently released an article outlining the relationship between the NBA, NBA owners and China.

In a nutshell, the relationship between the NBA and the authoritarian regime of China has been fractured for a couple of years, with one of the reasons the October 2019 tweet by Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey, then the general manager of the Houston Rockets, supporting Hong Kong protestors. 

The tweet sparked a chain of events that led to the Chinese government removing sponsorships and TV deals, costing the NBA hundreds of millions of dollars.

That ban ended just before this year’s NBA playoffs began, as Chinese fans were able to watch the sport again on state-ran TV. There was no announcement, no big press release or tweet (from either side) announcing the return.

The article goes on to explain that the NBA’s business in China is worth $5 billion, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. NBA owners combined have more than $10 billion invested there, ESPN reported. 

The NBA is lucrative, and seemingly everyone from players to owners are among some of the most business-savvy investors in the world. So, how can you mimic them?

China Equity Ideas: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd-ADR BABA, co-founded by Brooklyn Nets owner Tsai, is an e-commerce giant that has been compared to “Amazon on steroids.”

Leju Holdings Ltd LEJU is headquartered in Beijing, China. Late last week, Leju was one of today’s biggest movers, up nearly 50%.

Finally, one of the most popular methods to invest in Chinese companies is the Xtrackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF ASHR.

This ETF allows American Investors to buy into Class A shares listed on Shenzhen and Shanghai exchanges through a partnership with Deutsche Bank and Harvest Global.