Despite July’s sharp sell-off in global semiconductor shares, driven by concerns over AI-linked profitability, artificial intelligence and chips remained China’s most preferred investment themes in August, while more investors moved to hedge tech exposure, according to a survey by BofA Global Research.

The findings come from the August edition of the Asia Fund Manager Survey, for which Bank of America’s researchers polled 98 participants across the region from August 7 to 13. The respondents represented US$272 billion worth of assets under management.

In China, 73 per cent of surveyed fund managers picked AI and chips as one of their two favourite themes, even higher than July’s 60 per cent and June’s 50 per cent.

It came after global semiconductor shares tumbled in July on market concerns about potential disappointment in AI monetisation. In the US, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell about 21 per cent in July – its worst monthly performance since October 2008. In Hong Kong, GigaDevice Semiconductor’s stock fell from HK$1,188 (US$151) to HK$459 in July, while Montage Technology dropped from HK$464.60 to HK$269 within the month.

Meanwhile, stocks featuring share buy-backs or dividend payments ranked as the second most popular theme, with 27 per cent of China-based fund managers selecting them – a sharp rise from 16 per cent in July.