IN THE BACK
M & G Asian
Albemarle ’ s Tobias Williams says this fund ’ s value bias makes it well placed to take advantage of the recovery in Asian markets
For much of last year , the tight long-term Covid lockdowns imposed in China placed the world ’ s second-largest economy into reverse for the first time since the rapid expansion of globalisation at the turn of the millennium . Official sources claim the economy still grew by 3 % last year , but our estimate is that it shrunk by 2.4 %. Such a decline rapidly proved unsustainable for the government in Beijing , which faced waves of protests . While the true Covid picture today remains hard to determine , it is clear that the government has now accepted that a major wave will have to sweep through the nation to bring the country back out of lockdown . Such a change will of course have a significant impact on the global economy . We predict China will grow by 5.5 % in 2023 and emerging Asia by 1.6 %.
The end of the tunnel There is reason to hope therefore for a recovery in Asian stock markets which proved lacking in the first wave of the value rally of last year . In recent weeks , 72 % of holdings in the Asia Pacific ex Japan sector moved above their 200-day moving average , suggesting this could be a year of recovery for the region . We have responded by building a position for higher-risk investors in the
M & G Asian fund . The majority
/ 76 / trustnet . com