Hedge funds posted gains in April as regional equity and currency markets across China, Russia, Brazil and the Middle East posted sharp gains. Volume surged on the Shanghai/Hong Kong Connect program to a daily record driving Chinese A-shares to a gain of over 18 per cent for the month. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index®… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Views
Asia Frontier Capital Newsletter – Country Report: Saudi Arabia
This month’s country report profiles the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). While Asia Frontier Capital does not currently invest in Saudi Arabia, we are always evaluating frontier markets that may possibly hold investment potential. For example, Nepal and Bhutan are both in our fund’s investment universe, although we cannot currently invest in either country. Iran… Continue Reading
Guest Comment: Dubai, the Brits’ place in the sun
By Azam Butt, Editor at Bayut.com, a Dubai-based real estate portal. Dubai has been constantly cementing its position as a global investment magnet, courtesy of the its thriving hospitality, tourism and real estate sectors. Continue Reading
Lombard Odier: Oil, other commodities to stay cheap for quite a while
By Andrei Skvarsky. Swiss bank Lombard Odier’s chief economist argues that low prices for oil and other commodities are here to stay. Continue Reading
MNI Indicators: Consumer sentiment in Russia at record low
By Andrei Skvarsky. MNI Indicators, an intelligence unit of Deutsche Boerse, says consumer sentiment in Russia hit its lowest point last month since the firm launched its monthly surveys of it in March 2013. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital Newsletter – Country Report: Iraq
AFC Country Report: Iraq – The post conflict opportunity To mark the upcoming launch of the AFC Iraq Fund and to follow up on our recent in-depth coverage of Iraq in our previous newsletter (click here), this month we will be covering the post-conflict opportunity of Iraq. Country snapshots for all of AFC’s markets can… Continue Reading
Sberbank: Russians slightly more upbeat about economy but thriftier
By Andrei Skvarsky. Surveys by Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, suggest that the average Russian was slightly more optimistic about the country’s overall economic situation but thriftier in the first quarter of 2015 than in the last three months of 2014. Continue Reading
IronFX: Greece’s payment to IMF, domestic spending threaten new recession
Cyprus-based foreign exchange trader IronFX warns that Greece’s promised debt payment to the International Monetary Fund on April 9 and domestic social spending planned for this month may send the country’s economy back into recession. Continue Reading
Soros Ready To Invest $1B In Ukraine If West Helps
(Reuters) – George Soros is ready to invest $1 billion in Ukraine if Western countries help private investment there, and sees a 1 in 3 chance Greece will leave the euro, the billionaire financier told Austrian newspaper Der Standard. Soros has previously urged the West to step up aid to Ukraine, outlining steps toward a $50… Continue Reading
MNI: Business sentiment in Russia up in March but recession may be there already
By Andrei Skvarsky. Regular surveys by Deutsche Boerse-owned research company MNI Indicators suggest that business sentiment in Russia bounced back in March after a protracted decline but that overall the Russian economy remains on a downward course, with the firm’s chief economist arguing it “may already be in recession”. Continue Reading
Assets Surge For Top Emerging Managers
Emerging managers have their work cut out for them when it comes to attracting assets, but recent data shows the majority of the top new funds grew AUM last year. 74% of hedge funds on Hedgetracker’s Top Emerging Hedge Fund Managers list saw equity assets increase during the fourth quarter of 2014, while the group… Continue Reading
Survey: Hedge Fund Industry “Blind Spots” Persist
The hedge fund industry’s rapid growth and an increasingly complex regulatory environment have fueled differing views on transparency and independent controls among hedge fund managers and institutional investors, according to a new survey by Northern Trust. An overwhelming majority of managers (90%) said that all or nearly all of their investors are satisfied with the… Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital Newsletter – Country Snapshot: Mongolia
Although it is the least densely populated country in the world, with less than 3 million people living in a land area of 1.5 million km2, Mongolia has the potential to see the greatest growth of any country within the AFC Asia Frontier Universe. Mongolia’s economy is traditionally based on herding and agriculture, but is… Continue Reading
HFR: Hedge Funds Sour On Emerging Markets
Hedge fund capital invested in emerging markets declined to conclude 2014, falling from the record level established in 3Q14 on a combination of performance losses and investor outflows concentrated in funds with exposure to Russia. The HFRI EM: Russia/Eastern Europe Index declined 18.6% in 4Q14, bringing the 2014 full year loss to 26.5%, making 2014… Continue Reading
Omni Macro Fund Bullish On India, Watching China
Omni Macro Fund was formed in 2007 by Stephen Rosen, previously a prop trader at JP Morgan. The $600 million strategy was up 5.7% in 2014 and is over three percent ahead so far in 2015. Rosen is supported by Head of Strategy Chris Morrison, also a former prop trader at JP Morgan. In addition… Continue Reading
Lombard Odier: Greek crisis no obstacle to euro zone recovery
By Andrei Skvarsky. Swiss bank Lombard Odier argues that the Greek crisis is not systemic to the euro zone and does not jeopardise its recovery, not at this point at least. Continue Reading
Deutsche Boerse’s MNI Indicators: Russian companies face credit crunch
By Andrei Skvarsky. According to Deutsche Boerse-owned intelligence firm MNI Indicators, Russia’s economic downturn and foreign policy problems are pushing Russian companies closer and closer to a credit crunch. Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: S&P’s junk grade for Russia no bombshell – Swiss banker
By Andrei Skvarsky. A Moscow-based senior manager at Swiss bank Lombard Odier has argued that ratings agency S&P’s lowering of the sovereign credit rating Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital Newsletter – Country Snapshot: Bangladesh
With over 160 million people, a young and cheap labor force and a strategic location between India and China – two of largest engines of global economic growth over the past decade – Bangladesh maintains strong prospects for extended economic growth. Continue Reading
Deutsche Boerse group: Consumer sentiment in Russia lowest for nearly 2 years
By Andrei Skvarsky. Monthly polls of ordinary Russians by MNI Indicators, an intelligence unit of the Deutsche Boerse group, suggest that consumer confidence in Russia has been fizzling out steadily for months and in January hit the lowest mark since the surveys were launched in March 2013. Continue Reading
Juniper Research: Use of cryptocurrencies plummeting over theft, murky deals
By Andrei Skvarsky. Juniper Research, a UK-based communications research and consultancy company, forecasts that global cryptocurrency transactions will plummet in value this year to just over $30bn from more than $71bn in 2014. Continue Reading
Sberbank: ‘New economic model’ developed in Russia, growth likely to resume in 2016
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, this week came up with an unusually upbeat economic forecast, arguing that the Russian economy has adjusted to the low oil price and is likely to resume growth in 2016. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) Newsletter – 2014 Annual Review
2014 was a strong year for the AFC Asia Frontier Fund (AAFF) as a young team came together to establish a platform for future growth. This was not only reflected in the fund’s performance, but also in our focus on making on-the-ground visits to countries, meeting more companies, talking to people in our markets, and… Continue Reading
Newsletter from Canrim Resources, a Singaporean company focused on mineral resources development in Mongolia
Reflecting on 2014, Mongolia has come far, yet still has further to go. Early in the year many structural issues loomed large. This included the moratorium on the issuance of exploration licenses, development of large scale power projects and the railroad gauge debate, all of which were recently successfully resolved. In light of these productive developments, and a… Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Economists say practically no chance of Greece leaving euro
By Andrei Skvarsky. The idea of a Greek exit from the eurozone is back in the foreground, largely because of upcoming elections in Greece, but three high-powered economists have argued in interviews with EmergingMarkets.me that there is practically zero chance of the country breaking away. Continue Reading
Deutsche Boerse group poll suggests production in Russia at “lowest level on record”
By Andrei Skvarsky. A monthly survey by Deutsche Boerse group’s intelligence firm MNI Indicators suggests that Russian companies were a wee bit more optimistic in December than the month before but that production was at “the lowest level on record”, which appeared “to be finally spilling over to the jobs market”. Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Central bank too slow to react to ruble’s slide – Deutsche Boerse group analyst
Philip Uglow, chief economist at Deutsche Boerse-owned research company MNI Indicators, has said that last week’s key rate hike to 17% from 10.5% by the Russian central bank showed “how slow” the regulator had been to react to the slide of the ruble. Continue Reading
Dramatic rate hike to take Russian economy closer to “collapse” – economists
By Andrei Skvarsky. The Russian central bank’s raise of the key rate to 17% from 10.5% on December 16 comes as early and stark proof of a forecast last week by Philip Uglow, chief economist at Deutsche Boerse research firm MNI Indicators, who said the regulator would further tighten its monetary policy but argued this… Continue Reading
ASIA FRONTIER CAPITAL – Country Snapshot – Iraq
Despite being plagued by armed conflict for most of the last decade, Iraq’s economy is rebounding and showing promising signs for surging growth in the future. Iraq is an enormously wealthy country, devastated by over 30 years of terrible conflicts and crippling sanctions, and almost torn apart by civil strife. Continue Reading