Buying a stock or bond with China or Sino in its name used to be a sure-fire route to riches, so strong was demand for a piece of the world’s hottest emerging market. Now that trade has gone into reverse.

Chinese securities listed on the world’s most reputable stock markets, including New York, Hong Kong and Toronto, have tumbled in recent weeks as investors have balked at almost anything Chinese. Nervousness has grown as a string of foreign-listed Chinese companies has been accused of fraud, accounting discrepancies or other corporate governance failings.

Sino Forest, a Toronto-listed forestry company whose biggest investor is the $37bn hedge fund controlled by John Paulson, has plunged more than 80 per cent since being accused two weeks ago of overstating its sales and assets – in spite of the company’s strong denials.