China has reported annualised gross domestic product growth of 6.7% for the third quarter, in line with market expectations and the government’s own forecasts. But market watchers are suspicious about the medium-term outlook.
The lending organisation had strong words about difficulties in “critical areas”, while Rhodium Group warned that wealth management products are behind shadow financing that is driving “unsustainable” economic growth, creating conditions similar to those that led to the 2007-2008 global financial crisis.
The outlook for emerging markets is becoming more stable as falls in currency, oil and other commodity prices – added to a soft landing for China – continue to ease, argues Tai Hui, chief market strategist Asia at JP Morgan Asset Management.
In 2015, net sales of regulated funds in Asia-Pacific for the first time outpaced sales in Europe and the Americas, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. Most of the sales growth came from money market funds.
For the third time since 2013, the US index provider rejected the inclusion of China A-shares in its flagship emerging market indices, highlighting key unresolved issues.
Concerns over dilution to shareholder returns and falling profitability are the key challenges for equity markets throughout Asia, said Paul Danes, investment director and Asia CEO of Martin Currie.
The plummeting equity markets in the first two months of this year have left their mark on the mood of Finnish fund buyers. Half of the investors interviewed by our researcher in Helsinki last week do now have a negative macroeconomic outlook. This is up from just 10% when the Finns were polled previously in…
Belgian fund buyers, once Europe’s most upbeat, have turned negative on most asset classes, and they have been hoarding cash. European equities is the only long-only asset class holding out against the Belgian bearishness.
India overtook China as the world’s fastest growing major economy on Monday, leading some asset allocators to suggest it might be time to put China allocations on hold and opt for India instead.
The €1bn of net outflows from emerging market equity funds in December brought 2015’s total redemptions from the asset class to €36.3bn. Though emerging markets elsewhere were affected most heavily by the commodity price slump, Asia was suffering the biggest blows in 2015.
In 2015, emerging market equity ETPs had outflows for the third consecutive year, while global ETPs had record high inflows, according to a Blackrock report.
China’s stock market slumped by 7% for the second time this week, sending all main European indices down sharply as well.
