In a discordant world, there are no overarching investment themes. The different parts of the world are marching to different drums – their economies and markets are driven by different cycles, different prior policy choices and factors beyond their control. The US economy and market are paying back for the extreme policy stimulus of 2020-2021. Europeans are paying back for the same, with the added pain of a war outside their control. Japan is battling a chronic ailment – extreme debt – made acute by sharply higher cost of US funds. China is at the bottom of its policy cycle, at the beginning of a path out of COVID health controls.

Dec 05, 2022

After finishing Q2 as the only emerging market in positive territory, the effects of zero-COVID policy, a continued slump in the property market, and weakening global demand pushed Chinese stocks to the bottom of the EM index in Q3. The CSI 300 Index dropped by -14.3% over the three months from July to September 2022. Below, we offer deeper insights into third-quarter performance—including some bright spots among state-owned enterprises and technology with a policy tailwind—along with our thinking on October’s National Congress and what the rest of the year might have in store.

Oct 31, 2022

Unlike in developed markets, healthcare is actually a growing “new economy” sector in China that offers tremendous opportunities for global investors. As the Chinese economy evolves, the sector also enjoys fundamental tailwinds such as rising demand for healthcare and wellness services as living standards improve, and an aging population with low birth rates. Meanwhile being a growth sector with public interest concerns that is also popular among retail investors, the healthcare sector also experiences volatility swings and regulation tailwinds from time to time such that taking a diversified approach with consideration for fundamentals may be more optimal. In this article, we would take a closer look at the various underlying sub-segments, review their characteristics and also highlight some of the leading A-share companies driving the growth opportunities in their respective space.

Sep 20, 2022

Sichuan has a very real climate change issue to manage this year. After extreme heatwave and drought causing power rationing for industrial users for two weeks, the province is now quickly re-gearing for Level IV flood emergency alert. While most factories are able to resume production now, should we be concerned especially with memories from the power crunch actions last year? What would be the impacts and ripple effects we should pay attention to? In this article we reviewed the background triggering the Sichuan situation, and why we believe the power rationing events are more pre-emptive in nature and energy security is very carefully managed in the planned economy of China.

Aug 31, 2022

세계 시장은 인플레이션과 경기 불황 위험이 고조되는 가운데 2022년 현재까지 더 높은 변동성을 마주하고 있다. 미국 금리인상 사이클로 인한 달러 강세가 대부분의 외화표시 자산들의 달러수익률을 더욱 압박하고 있다. 이번 인사이트에서는 동종상품들 중에서는 아시아 최초로 USD 환헤지 기능을 제공하는 Premia China Treasury and Policy Bank Bond Long Duration ETF USD 환헤지형(9177.HK)을 추가한 이유에 대해 기술할 예정이다. 미국의 지속적 금리 인상 속 시가평가(MTM) 리스크를 염두에 둔 투자자와 장기 듀레이션 상품에 대한 자산배분이 필요한 자산가들을 위해, Premia China Treasury and Policy Bank Bond Long Duration ETF는 강력한 A1 국채 신용등급을 보유한 중국 장기국채 및 정책은행 채권에 투자접근성을 제공하는 특별한 투자도구로, 3% 이상의 경쟁력 있는 수익률과 안정적인 수익률 변동성, 그리고 이제는 USD 환헤지형 상품을 통해 위안화의 환율 위험을 최소화하면서도 중국 국채의 안정적인 수익률까지 잡을 수 있는 추가 옵션까지 제공한다.

Aug 18, 2022

Notwithstanding the cautious sentiment towards Chinese equities over the past year, the fundamentals suggest that it would be increasingly difficult to ignore Chinese equities as its economic heft and importance continues to grow. In this article, our Senior Advisor Say Boon Lim analyzes the fundamentals of the Chinese economy and why it makes sense for global allocators to deploy Chinese equities for diversification and growth opportunities as the alternative would be a deliberate underweight decision for a large part of the world's GDP and the key driver for global productivity growth.

Aug 11, 2022

After lithium, coal and pork, polysilicon appears to be the next in line for potential government price interventions. In fact, polysilicon prices which have been on nine consecutive weeks of spiking spree, have reached 10-year high and the high prices have caused severe supply chain disruptions and suppressed domestic demand for solar panels – and in the process slow down the solar infrastructure build out in China. Such price intervention thus is envisaged to be a positive regulating event, that would shift the industry dynamics from upstream biased to more midstream and downstream actors, to rebalance the supply chain economics for long run sustainable growth of the industry ecosystem. In this article, we shall analyze this in greater details, and explain why despite the headline concerns it would be a positive event for the sector leaders including related constituents in the Premia ETFs, while the polysilicon market is expected to remain tight throughout the year due to persistent strong global demand and supply shortages.

Aug 04, 2022

Although a lot of unprecedented events happened in the past few years, financial market rallies have bolstered positive wealth effects and expanded the balance sheet for many investors – until recently. This year has been extremely challenging for even the most astute and well-researched investors. How do we make sense of so much uncertainty around inflation, geopolitical tension, recession, pandemic and more? Recently our Senior Advisor Dr. Jason Hsu, Chairman and CIO of Rayliant Global Advisors has published 7 Predictions for a Stagflation Economy, which raised some bold and perhaps uncomfortable possibilities that would be helpful for us all to reflect and prepare for. In this webinar, we shall discuss with Dr. Hsu live to decipher what might be the best way to weather the turbulent markets ahead, and while acknowledging diversification remains the free lunch in investing – what to diversify with? [Watch Replay Here]

Aug 03, 2022

As stocks around the world struggled in Q2 2022, China A shares produced a positive return, with the CSI 300 Index adding +6.2% for the quarter. This muted number nevertheless belies an action-packed three months, as investor sentiment toward mainland shares reached a low in April, with Shanghai and other major cities entering growth-stunting lockdowns amidst a rapid spread of COVID variants, only to recover sharply in May and June, as easing public health restrictions allowed Beijing to start ramping up a massive stimulus program intended to set the nation’s economy up for a strong second half leading into Q4’s National Congress. Here we offer some perspective on factor drivers in China’s market during the second quarter and comment on what might come next for Chinese stocks.

Aug 01, 2022