AFC Funds Performance Summary Now that the race for the Presidency of the United States of America is concluded, many analysts are pondering the possible consequences of the outcome of the election for their investments and how to best position investment portfolios for return maximization or risk management. As the US is the most important… Continue Reading
Category Archives: News
Dubai, Abu Dhabi real estate markets robust despite sliding rents – Bayut.com
By Andrei Skvarsky. Apartment rents in Dubai and Abu Dhabi kept edging down in the third quarter of 2016 but rent yields remained stable and the two emirates’ real estate markets on the whole stayed robust, according to Dubai-based real estate portal Bayut.com. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – September 2016 Newsletter
AFC Funds Performance Summary September has been another good month for AFC. The AFC Asia Frontier Fund returned +2.3%, up for the seventh month in a row to a new all-time high, bringing the year to date performance to +14.2%. At the same time, the MSCI Frontier Markets Asia Index was down by -0.5% for… Continue Reading
Forty-bank forum looks at Mauritius Commercial Bank’s one-stop shop initiative
By Andrei Skvarsky. Forty African banks took part in last week’s iteration of an annual event in Mauritius whose main purpose is to showcase an initiative by Mauritius Commercial Bank Group (MCB), East Africa’s biggest lender, to be a one-stop shop for banks by providing a regional platform for trade finance, cards outsourcing and consultancy. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – August 2016 Newsletter
“Successful Investing takes time, discipline and patience. No matter how great the talent or effort, some things just take time: You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.” – Warren Buffet AFC Funds Performance Summary The AFC Asia Frontier Fund has recorded its 6th month of positive performance in… Continue Reading
Orange to provide more extensive financial services in four African countries
By Andrei Skvarsky. Orange SA, a multinational telecommunications operator, has obtained licences to provide more extensive mobile financial services in Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast and Guinea. Continue Reading
Sun Global Investments CEO: 5-fold rise in US direct investment in India is Modi’s work
By Andrei Skvarsky. The chief executive of Sun Global Investments, a London-based financial services firm, has confirmed that US direct investment in India has increased fivefold over the past two years, and has put it to the credit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been in office since May 2014. Continue Reading
Money pours into UAE real estate market – Bayut
By Andrei Skvarsky. Dubai-based real estate portal Bayut.com says statistics prove that the United Arab Emirates’ real estate market “continues to inspire trust in investors”. Continue Reading
Barclays, Standard Chartered under fire from African environmentalists
By Andrei Skvarsky. Barclays and Standard Chartered last week had their London headquarters picketed by demonstrators protesting against the two British banks’ alleged funding of a Kenyan company accused of environmental and other crimes. Continue Reading
Kenya to get $118.5m as immediate bounty from intl forum – Daily Nation
By Andrei Skvarsky. Kenya expects about $118.5m to be immediately injected into its economy by the organisers and delegates of a planned large-scale international conference in Nairobi this week on African development. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – July 2016 Newsletter
“In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable.” – Robert Arnott, Research Affiliates AFC Funds Performance Summary The Brexit surprise in late June caused a period of volatility in worldwide equity markets which was followed by a rebound in July with US markets posting significant gains, while most European markets recovered somewhat but are still… Continue Reading
Rents in Dubai, Abu Dhabi go down – Bayut
By Andrei Skvarsky. Apartment rents in Dubai and Abu Dhabi have fallen over the past year, according to the Bayut.com real estate portal. Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange to buy back two subsidiaries in consolidation scheme
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow Exchange will buy back two subsidiaries in a planned consolidation process to be completed by the end of 2016. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – June 2016 Newsletter
“To invest successfully over a lifetime does not require a stratospheric IQ, unusual business insights, or inside information. What’s needed is a sound intellectual framework for making decisions and the ability to keep emotions from corroding that framework.” – Warren Buffett Continue Reading
O1 Properties thinking of putting $30m into Moscow apartment project
By Andrei Skvarsky. O1 Properties, a Russian investment company owning and managing premium-class office space, is considering investing about $30m into the planned construction of about 200 apartments on the premises of a cultural and business complex in central Moscow. Continue Reading
About 90 per cent of investments into Moscow economy private money – deputy mayor
By Andrei Skvarsky. Nearly 90 per cent of recent investments into Moscow’s economy has been private money, a deputy mayor announced last week. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – May 2016 Newsletter
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb Continue Reading
Russia consumer sentiment barometer of MNI Indicators down to ‘record low’
By Andrei Skvarsky. Surveys by a research subsidiary of Deutsche Boerse suggest that consumer sentiment in Russia dropped to a “record low” in May after edging up steadily for a few months. Continue Reading
Russia’s BCS to officially launch business in N. America
By Andrei Skvarsky. BCS Global Markets, a key Russian securities broker, will officially launch business in North America within a couple of weeks after a current transaction in which it is buying out Alforma Capital Markets, a US subsidiary of Russia’s Alfa-Bank, is due to be completed. Continue Reading
The Best Market in the World?
By Carl T. Delfeld Vice Chairman, ASEAN Investment Council. This article has been kindly made available to EmergingMarkets.me by Thomas Hugger, CEO and Fund Manager of Asia Frontier Capital Wouldn’t it be great if you could create an ideal market to invest in out of thin air? Right off the bat you would want growth – lots… Continue Reading
Vietnam’s TPBank rescues $1.13m from cyber theft – Reuters
Vietnam’s Tien Phong Bank (TPBank) thwarted an attempt in the final quarter of 2015 to rob it of more than 1m euros ($1.13m) via fraudulent messages through the SWIFT international transfers system, Reuters said, citing the lender. Continue Reading
Consumer sentiment in Russia rises steadily but slowly – Deutsche Boerse subsidiary
By Andrei Skvarsky. Consumer sentiment surveys in Russia by a Deutsche Boerse subsidiary show a steady albeit very slow rise in optimism between February and April. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – April 2016 Newsletter
“Most people get interested in stocks when everyone else is. The time to get interested is when no one else is. You can’t buy what is popular and do well.” – Warren Buffett. AFC Funds Performance Summary World markets started weak this year with a big drop in January and February 2016, and most… Continue Reading
Amsterdam, Budapest forums to discuss collateral management, retail banking problems
The planned 5th Annual Collateral Management Forum in Amsterdam on June 2-3 will take up a variety of issues, including numerous challenges presented to financial institutions by continual regulatory changes. Continue Reading
Second Annual Credit Risk Management Forum
Banks such as Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, UBS and UniCredit and regulators including the European Central Bank and European Risk Management Council will be represented at this event, which will address one of the hottest topics in today’s banking. The vast number of subjects to be addressed at the 2nd Annual Credit Risk Management Forum include suggestions for new ways of managing credit risk and challenges presented… Continue Reading
Myanmar Apex Bank launches mobile app for remittances
Myanmar Apex Bank (MAB), one of the four private banks set up during Myanmar’s 2010 privatisation wave, has launched a system allowing remittances via mobile phone text messages. Continue Reading
China official proposes allowing private retirement savings accounts
By Andrei Skvarsky. A senior official in the China Securities Regulatory Commission has proposed that individuals should be allowed to open private retirement savings accounts in addition to the current system of centralised pension deductions. Continue Reading
China’s LeEco streaming movies provider to invest about $100bn in Russia – EWDN, Kommersant
LeEco, China’s Netflix-like provider of streaming movies, plans to establish a presence in Russia this summer and to initially invest a minimum of $100m into the Russian market, according to the East-West Digital News (EWDN) website and Russin business daily Kommersant. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – March 2016 Newsletter
“The only way to stay consistently ahead of the game is to adopt a long-term view and, if appropriate, with a strong contrarian spin.” – Marc Mobius. AFC Funds Performance Summary This past month we have again received several accolades for the outstanding work of our team: Lipper’s Citywire has again listed AFC Asia… Continue Reading