The staggering recovery of China's public tech companies, in charts

From The News Desk

If you’re thinking of investing in Chinese tech stocks, learn those four characters. They mean “up and to the right.” (At least, they do if Google Translate serves me well.)

With a potentially enormous US initial public offering for Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba on the horizon (even though some sources are saying it won’t happen until next year), and Baidu-controlled travel company Qunar’s impending IPO, it’s worth taking another look at the performance of China’s public tech companies.

What you’ll find when you do look is that they’re on a tear. Just over a year ago, China’s IPO prospects looked bleak, thanks to a string of accounting scandals and poor public showings from the likes of etailer Mecox Lane and online education provider ChinaCast Education. Today, on the other hand, you’ll find Chinese tech companies whose prices have soared over the course of a year. Investors appear to be regaining confidence in the world’s largest country and Internet market. Good timing, Alibaba.

Here’s how the performance of Chinese tech’s most prominent companies looks like over the course of the past 12 months. (Today’s prices all approximate.)

21Vianet (Nasdaq:VNET)

What it does: Data services provider

Stock price at IPO: 15 (April 2011)

Stock price a year ago: 11.68

Stock price today: 17