Embattled Chinese developers have turned to a new strategy to resuscitate their ailing businesses: diversifying into semiconductor production. Certain listed property companies have seen their shares skyrocket – some by hundreds of per cent – after announcing investments in “chipmaking”. Such strategic diversification efforts have sparked a buying frenzy among retail investors in the mainland’s A-share market. “Chip-themed stocks are the new darlings of individual investors since [such stocks]...