Wednesday, 04 February 2026 11:25

Birth woes

Written by Milking It

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OPINION: What does the birth rate in China have to do with stock trading? Just ask a2 Milk Company.

The company was forced to place itself in a temporary trading halt on the Australian stock market last month, with its share price falling 12%, following the release of Chinese data indicating a larger than expected drop in the number of new births.

a2 had previously indicated its forecast growth in China would be supported by an annual growth rate in new births of between 8.5-9 million.

However, the number of new births in China fell 17% last year to under 8m - the lowest in nearly 90 years.

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