China

So many developments have occurred since we last met in September, but the major ones were the surprising collapse in oil prices mostly due to geopolitical factors, the U.S.-China trade and BREXIT conflicts becoming increasingly intractable, and that aspects of the global economy showed occasional signs of moderation.

The macroeconomic issues that plague China are well known, but we believe that China is able to engineer a soft landing and to sustain growth, albeit at a lower level than it is used to.

Nearly every expert seems to be pessimistic about any progress being made during the US-China talks this week, citing the “low level delegations” attending, but there are many signs from both sides of an incipient deal, not to mention the obvious economic and political incentives to achieve such.

Recent moves by the Chinese government to further liberalize its fund management industry have generated a lot of interest with some observers projecting that China will overtake the UK to be the second-largest asset management market.

In March 2018, Bloomberg announced a conditional decision to include Chinese bonds in its flagship bond index: Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate, starting from April 2019.

It seems that China does not wish to compromise with the U.S., but neither does it wish to retaliate strongly to the $200BB of additional tariffs. Since it does not wish to “lose face” in giving this light response, it is putting a positive spin on its actions by saying it wishes to be the leader of the free trade movement.

John Vail, Chief Global Strategist for Nikko Asset Management, contributes a regular column to Forbes.com

Considering the unique profile of the market and how much China influences the global economy, a decision about China could be the most important call an investor can make at this time.

The much anticipated MSCI A Share inclusion happened on 31 May 2018 and will pave the way for further internationalisation of China’s stock markets.

Chinese companies are now a force to be reckoned with on their home turf – a market which used to be dominated by foreign brands. This report looks at how the change has come about and where Chinese brands are headed.

Beijing conference takeaway: It is clear that while China is set for lower economic growth this year, this decrease represents a welcome central government focus on creating a cleaner, more efficient economy.

With its advantages of a vast talent pool, financing and market access, China has most of the ingredients needed to transform into the “Silicon Valley of the East”

Imagine a day when "Asia ex-China" portfolios are the norm. We think this is not too far-fetched an idea.

A flying visit into China post the 19th Party Congress seemed like a good idea. I got the sense that post the conference, visibility and direction over the next five years was reasonably clear. But it is more difficult to hold a similar view for 2018.

China has not yet been fully incorporated into indices, creating a mismatch and a unique challenge to investors in navigating this new world order.

To help bridge the gap between the perceived unreliability of Chinese statistics and the importance of analysing the world’s second largest economy, we look for measures which have less potential to be manipulated.

Most bond index providers have started to recognize China’s financial market liberalisation and reform efforts. We think it is only a question of time before they are included in the main benchmark indices.

Our senior fixed income portfolio manager in Singapore explains why he is bullish on ASEAN currencies for the long-term.

As China’s economic development enters a more sophisticated and mature phase, it is beginning to challenge many of the status quos that have been taken for granted since the middle of the 20th century.

“When the two largest economies in the world are signaling that that they don’t want asset prices to rise too much, investors should take note to curtail any excessive optimism...”

John Vail, Chief Global Strategist for Nikko Asset Management, contributes a regular column to Forbes.com

China’s dual goals of deleveraging and maintaining strong growth may not necessarily conflict, but they certainly pose a delicate balancing act for the government.