Asia/Pacific

Over the last couple weeks, we have seen an ongoing increase in government bond yields across the major global economies, with a particular focus on Japan as yields on longer dated Japanese government bonds (JGBs) have moved sharply higher.

“Liberation Day” has landed, and not with a whimper. In extraordinary scenes in the Rose Garden of the White House, President Trump held up a board outlining the level of tariffs the US will impose on countries around the world, and in most cases they were worse than worst-case expectations.

Emerging market (EM) equities are more domestically driven than commonly assumed. Companies in the MSCI EM Index derive over 60% of revenues in their home markets. And they could further reduce their dependence on exports in the future. We illustrate the reasons.

The driving force behind this performance is the Chinese tech sector, fuelled by hopes that a larger adoption of AI could boost earnings. A confirmation of improved earnings, the resurgence of consumption confidence and sequential stabilization of the overall economy will be needed to solidify and extend the recent rally.

Shares in Nvidia and ASML have plummeted due to concerns that Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's new model could disrupt the current AI business model. DeepSeek's R1 model, released on January 20, exhibits performance similar to top US large language models (LLMs), but at a fraction of the cost.

Japan’s economic success story after World War II was like a phoenix rising from the ashes. But it didn’t last, resulting in the “Lost Decade” and China subsequently taking its place as the world’s second-largest economy. Comparing the Japan of yesteryear with today’s China raises the question whether China could soon face a similar fate.

Over the last decade investors have been forced to broaden their horizons, but many investors continue to overlook Emerging Market Local Currency Debt. Our Fixed income team offers five reasons why you should think about giving emerging markets local currency a more permanent allocation in your investment portfolio.

China’s last few years have presented new economic challenges, and Beijing has completely rewritten its policy priorities and playbook. But looking ahead, this does not mean Chinese investment won’t be rewarded in the future; rather that policy-compliance should be a criterion considered by investors.

After a multi-decade era of significant economic growth, China is now the second largest global economy and dominant in the MSCI emerging market index. How should emerging market equities investors balance this with the potential implications of recent economic and political moves out of Beijing and shifting demographic patterns?

Investors can look back at having had to navigate a difficult first half of the year. Emerging-market equities, though posting positive returns, trailed their developed-market counterparts. Could things turn around in the remainder of the year, leading to an outperformance of EM stocks?

Is China’s property market on the mend? Are there any more humps in the road before it turns the corner? Our emerging markets credit specialists Cosmo Zhang and Wouter van Overfelt explain how contrarian investors who may have missed the strong rebound in December can now spot potential opportunities for generating alpha.

When comparing the earnings trajectory of emerging markets corporates with that of their developed-market counterparts, many investors consider this a lost decade. Are emerging market stocks now set to bounce back?