SHANGHAI -- Price-to-book ratios at Chinese companies have dropped to a five-year low, as the real estate market slump and souring economic sentiment have dented investor confidence, especially in finance stocks.

The average P/B ratio -- the value of shares compared with net assets -- at 4,880 major Chinese companies stood at about 1.7 as of Monday, according to QUICK-FactSet. This is the lowest since October 2018 and close to the all-time nadir of 1.52 from 2005.