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Vietnam's Economic Growth Slows Due to Global Headwinds and Internal Constraints
August 10, 2023--Effective public investment is crucial for long-term growth
A challenging external environment and weaker domestic demand is leading to a slowdown in economic growth in Vietnam.
But the economy will pick up pace over the second half of this year, and the following years, according to the World Bank's latest economic update entitled "Making Public Investment Work for Growth".
The report shows that Vietnam's economic growth slowed from 8% in 2022 to 3.7% in the first half of 2023. It forecasts a moderate growth of 4.7% in 2023, gradually accelerating to 5.5% in 2024 and 6.0% in 2025. A proactive fiscal policy supporting short-term demand, removing barriers to the implementation of public investment, and addressing infrastructure constraints can help the economy achieve these targets and promote long-term growth.
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Source: worldbank.org
Pacific Recovery Picks Up Amid Uncertain Global Outlook
August 8, 2023--Benefits of labor migration can be maximized with investments in education, support for reintegration, and improving economic opportunities at home.
Despite uncertainty about the outlook for inflation and interest rates in major economies and trading partners, developing Pacific economies are expected to grow in 2023 and 2024 due to a recovery in tourism, post-disaster rebuilding, and infrastructure construction, a World Bank report released today says.
Pacific growth is expected to pick up to 3.9 percent this year from 2 percent in 2022 and then moderate to 3.3 percent next year as the initial post-COVID-19 rebound dissipates and as the region moves towards its long-term trend growth of 2.6 percent, according to the Pacific Economic Update: Recovering in the Midst of Uncertainty.
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Source: worldbank.org
Dissecting the Bank of Japan's ETF splurge
August 7, 2023--Why isn't the Topix toppier?
The most unorthodox bit of the Bank of Japan's unorthodox monetary policy is its purchases of Japanese equity ETFs, amassing a portfolio that booked at about JPY37tn ($260bn) at the end of July.
It's far from the only weird legacy of a weird decade for monetary policy. The Swiss National Bank has amassed in $214bn global stocks, for example, while the Federal Reserve in March 2020 started buying some bond ETFs. And then there's Turkey, which, well, keeps being Turkey.
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Source: ft.com
IMF Working Paper-Fiscal Policy and the Government Balance Sheet in China
August 4, 2023--Summary:
In this paper, we present the most comprehensive estimates of China's government balance sheet to date. Based on these estimates, we show how major shifts in fiscal policy over the last two decades have shaped the health of the public sector prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. We find that, at US$12.5 trillion, China has the largest stock of financial assets in the world.
However, its net financial worth as a percent of GDP-though still higher than the large majority of countries-has declined over the last decade. This trend can be traced back to the turn of the century when China undertook a major restructuring of its state-owned enterprises but left important shortcomings in the intergovernmental fiscal system unaddressed. Compounding these risks, reform momentum stalled in the aftermath of the global financial crisis leading to high leverage and falling profitability among state-owned enterprises.
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Source: imf.org
Malaysia's first fund investing in an inverse ETF faces hurdles
July 21, 2023--Maybank AM fears promoting the ability to capitalise on a US market downturn could send the wrong signals
Maybank Asset Management is gearing up to launch Malaysia's first mutual fund that invests in an inverse exchange traded fund amid persistent gloomy market outlooks that have kept investors largely on the sidelines since last year.
But the firm, which will target sophisticated investors due to regulation on the sale of complex products, is wondering about how to promote the new strategy, given the potential for mixed signals to investors -essentially that the manager is forecasting even choppier markets.
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Source: ft.com
ETF Review: Industry breaks $150 billion barrier (June 2023)
July 19, 2023--Australian ETF Industry breaks $150 billion barrier
The Australian ETF industry ended the financial year on a high, reaching the $150 billion mark in total assets under management after recording robust growth for the half year, a particularly strong result considering the tough conditions being faced in the asset management industry more broadly.
We would very much categorise the Australian ETF industry as an 'absolute/relative' story at the moment: On an absolute basis the industry is growing more slowly than the 2 years preceding this one, with investors being far more guarded about investment allocations. On a relative basis, however, the Australian ETF industry has never been in a stronger position, particularly when compared to the unlisted active funds which have been plagued by outflows in recent times.
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Source: betashares.au
China Growth Disappoints as Beijing Hints at Muted Stimulus
July 16, 2023--GDP growth was weaker than expected in second quarter
Citigroup says China's official growth target now at risk
China's economic recovery lost momentum in the second quarter, putting Beijing's growth target for the year at risk and adding to concerns about a slowdown in the world economy.
Gross domestic product grew at a slower-than-expected pace of 6.3% in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, when dozens of Chinese cities were in lockdown, but just less than 1% from the first quarter. Deflation is a major risk now, the data showed, with economy-wide prices declining for the first time since 2020, while youth unemployment climbed to above 21%.
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Source: Bloomberg
India's Financial System: Building the Foundation for Strong and Sustainable Growth
July 6, 2023--Summary:
India has experienced a prolonged period of strong economic growth since it embarked on major structural reforms and economic liberalization in 1991, with real GDP growth averaging about 6.6 percent during 1991-2019. Millions have been lifted out of poverty.
With a population of 1.4 billion and about 7 percent of the world economic output (in purchasing power parity terms), India is the third largest economy-after the US and China.
As such, developments in India have significant global and regional implications, including via spillovers through international trade and global supply chains. At the same time, India's economic development has not been linear and has been impacted by external and domestic shocks, some directly related to the financial sector.
Indeed, India was not spared from external regional and global shocks, such as the Asian financial crisis (1997), the global financial crisis (2008), and more recently, the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (from 2020) and the war in Ukraine (2022). The economy has also been hit by domestic shocks. The book covers how to strengthen the financial system to support growth and reduce vulnerabilities by discussing the linkages between the financial sector and growth, improvements in bank lending to foster productivity, and measures to further develop India's corporate bond market. The book reflects on India's success in leveraging digitalization to foster financial inclusion and highlights how the financial system can help to address climate issues. This book digs deeper into the various facets of India's financial sector to understand its strengths and opportunities and to elicit policy actions that could help the financial sector better support India's growth potential.
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Source: imf.org
Indonesia: Selected Issues-Not All Investors Are the Same: Lessons for a Changing Investor Base in Indonesia
June 30, 2023--Against the backdrop of a significant shift in the investor base of local currency (LC) sovereign debt in Indonesia, this paper finds that: (i) NR holdings of LC debt in Indonesia are mostly driven by global factors, while Bank of Indonesia (BI) acts as a residual financier;
(ii) higher NR holdings support the bond market and domestic credit, but increase exchange rate volatility; and episodes of rapid and large declines in the NR share of LC debt in EMs are associated with higher future market volatility and lower credit to the private sector; and (iii) domestic nonbanks play a key role in absorbing new LC debt, especially during episodes of large and rapid nonresident outflows. These results call for a further deepening of the investor base, especially domestic nonbanks, to support market depth and reduce volatility.
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Source: IMF.org
Van Eck moves to match BlackRock in Australia ETF price war
June 29, 2023--The reduced fees will affect a global infrastructure and an international property fund
US-based exchange traded fund provider VanEck has announced huge fee cuts for its Australia-listed global infrastructure and international property ETFs, after BlackRock undercut its rival by rolling out similar low-cost ETFs last month.
VanEck, the fourth-argest ETF provider in Australia as of the end of May, with A$12.7bn ($8.7bn) in funds under management, is the latest to join the escalating price war in the market.
The A$808mn VanEck FTSE Global Infrastructure (Hedged) ETF will be available to investors for an annual rate of 0.2 per cent, down 32 basis points from 0.52 per cent.
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Source: ft.com