Asia Economist and CEO, Centennial Asia Advisors

Manu Bhaskaran

Asia Economist and CEO

Centennial Asia Advisors

At Centennial Asia Advisors, we tell it like it is. We have no vested interests, no need for a China wall, and no reason to skew our outlook any other way. With over 30 years experience covering Asia’s political economy, you can be sure our conclusions and analyses are based on the unadulterated facts. Through years of fine-tuning our research methodologies, we deliver a quality of macroeconomic analysis few other houses can match.

Centennial Asia Advisors is an independent research and advisory firm that works with governments, multilateral institutions, financial firms and leading MNCs.

Economic Policy and Strategic Advisors

Macroeconomics

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Trump stepped back from direct confrontation with China: In his phone call with Chinese President Xi, Trump acceded to China’s request to honour the longstanding “One China” policy, which he had appeared to question in his tweets. But the potential downside risks in the bilateral relationship were made clear by reports of an “unsafe” interaction between a Chinese surveillance plane and a US Navy P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft on the same day.</li>
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North Korean missile test not a huge deal: The test…</li>
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Trump stepped back from direct confrontation with China: In his phone call with Chinese President Xi, Trump acceded to China’s request to honour the longstanding “One China” policy, which he had appeared to question in his tweets. But the potential downside risks in the bilateral relationship were made clear by reports of an “unsafe” interaction between a Chinese surveillance plane and a US Navy P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft on the same day.

North Korean missile test not a huge deal: The test…


Geopolitics: Trump Refines Approach to China

Making sense of the Global Market, Euromonitor International Ltd.

Yu Mitsuhashi

Making sense of the Global Market

Euromonitor International Ltd.

We are a global market research company focused on industries, countries, economies and consumers worldwide. Our cross-country comparable research helps your organisation identify opportunities and develop growth strategies in countries and regions across the globe. With offices around the world, 1,200 analysts in 100 countries and market research on every key trend and driver, we give you powerful access to the real story behind consumer change.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<h2>Headlines</h2><ul>
<li>Sugar confectionery value sales increased by 16% in 2016, to reach INR78 billion, with volumes increasing by 11% to reach 305,000 tonnes</li>
<li>Increasing consumer spending and a greater number of variants support growth in sugar confectionery in 2016</li>
<li>Pastilles, gums, jellies and chews remains the fastest-growing category, with value increasing by 22% in 2016</li>
<li>The average unit price increases by 4% in 2016</li>
<li>Perfetti Van Melle India Pvt Ltd remains the leading manufacturer in 2016, with a value share…</li>
</ul>

Headlines
Sugar confectionery value sales increased by 16% in 2016, to reach INR78 billion, with volumes increasing by 11% to reach 305,000 tonnes
Increasing consumer spending and a greater number of variants support growth in sugar confectionery in 2016
Pastilles, gums, jellies and chews remains the fastest-growing category, with value increasing by 22% in 2016
The average unit price increases by 4% in 2016
Perfetti Van Melle India Pvt Ltd remains the leading manufacturer in 2016, with a value share…


Sector Capsule: Sugar Confectionery in India

Specialist in Indian Banking and Economic Research

Hemindra Hazari

The Economic Survey is the flagship document of the Ministry of Finance, presented by the Finance Minister to Parliament on a day prior to the release of the Union Budget. This prestigious economic document is the responsibility of the chief economic advisor to the Indian government and is widely read by academics and those interested in the state of the Indian economy. Its premier status as the most credible annual review of the Indian economy implies that its own sources and citations withstand academic scrutiny. The Economic Survey 2016-2017 is no doubt a mine of information and packed with interesting research and innovative use of Big Data such as internal migration of workers using the railways. At the same time, it has some unusual citations and references on some critical subjects which hardly befit a document of such weight.

The Economic Survey is the flagship document of the Ministry of Finance, presented by the Finance Minister to Parliament on a day prior to the release of the Union Budget. This prestigious economic document is the responsibility of the chief economic advisor to the Indian government and is widely read by academics and those interested in the state of the Indian economy. Its premier status as the most credible annual review of the Indian economy implies that its own sources and citations withstand academic scrutiny. The Economic Survey 2016-2017 is no doubt a mine of information and packed with interesting research and innovative use of Big Data such as internal migration of workers using the railways. At the same time, it has some unusual citations and references on some critical subjects which hardly befit a document of such weight.

Economic Survey 2016-17 – Dubious Citations Tell a Story

Investing in high growth Asian frontier economies., Asia Frontier Capital

Scott Osheroff

Investing in high growth Asian frontier economies.

Asia Frontier Capital

Asia Frontier Capital Ltd. is a pioneering fund management company based in Hong Kong that specializes in investing in high growth Asian frontier economies by managing the AFC Asia Frontier Fund , AFC Iraq Fund and the AFC Vietnam Fund.

The AFC Asia Frontier Fund invests in public equities of Asian frontier countries that are seeing increasing consumption due to favorable demographic trends, rising incomes and high GDP growth. The fund invests in listed equities of companies that have their principal business activities in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Iraq, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. The AFC Asia Frontier Fund is positioned to take advantage of the continuing economic shifts in these countries and offers high returns combined with significant diversification opportunities. This fund is directed by the founder and CEO of Asia Frontier Capital, Thomas Hugger, who has been investing in frontier markets across Asia and Africa for more than 20 years.

The AFC Iraq Fund was launched on the 26th June 2015 and aims to achieve long-term capital appreciation for investors by capturing value and growth potential in the post conflict high-growth & resource rich Iraq market. The fund emphasises long term investment horizon to truly capture the opportunity in Iraq. The fund's investable universe consists of locally listed companies that have their principal business activities in Iraq as well as foreign listed companies that have the majority of the business in Iraq as a whole including the prosperous Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI). The AFC Iraq Fund offers access to investments in post conflict recovery potential of Iraq, including the KRI, and/or stability in its territory. The AFC Iraq Fund is managed by Asia Frontier Capital (Iraq) Limited, Cayman Islands under the executive leadership team of Thomas Hugger (CEO & Fund Manager) and Ahmed Tabaqchali (CIO) who have more than 47 years of investment experience as well as an extensive background covering global, emerging, frontier and MENA markets.

The AFC Vietnam Fund invests exclusively in listed Vietnamese equities to capture value in growth companies with a focus on the small to medium size companies. This market segment offers a unique investment opportunity as the valuation gap between large- and small-cap stocks in Vietnam is presently much wider than in comparable neighboring markets and the valuations are significantly depressed versus their regional peers. The fund adopts a fundamental-quantitative approach and employs an in-house earnings model to identify attractive companies where we see high growth opportunities. In conjunction with targeting the maximum upside potential the portfolio has been structured to mitigate corporate government and liquidity risks. The fund invests in a diversified portfolio of 70-90 attractively valued companies to carefully control concentration risk.  This approach allows the fund to sell, or buy, positions without having a significant market impact. The fund is directed under the executive leadership of Thomas Hugger and Andreas Vogelsanger who have more than 50 years combined experience managing investments in frontier markets, Asia and around the world.

For more information about the fund, management team and investment strategy please contact us at info@asiafrontiercapital.com.

In line with our process of being on the ground in the countries we invest in, Scott Osheroff, Analyst at Asia Frontier Capital, travelled to Myanmar and conducted meetings with portfolio companies and other companies on our shortlist. The photos in this article are all by AFC.

In line with our process of being on the ground in the countries we invest in, Scott Osheroff, Analyst at Asia Frontier Capital, travelled to Myanmar and conducted meetings with portfolio companies and other companies on our shortlist. The photos in this article are all by AFC.

India focused Portfolio Advisory - Exp of 40+years, Das Capital Management and Advisors

Arun Thirumalai

India focused Portfolio Advisory - Exp of 40+years

Das Capital Management and Advisors

Das Capital is a research boutique with an aim to continuously map and plan the investment needs of investors focused on India. We have a six member research team with a combined experience of over 40 years as a part of our investment wing. Our team assisted in the setup of Premji Investments, which was one of India’s first family offices focused to managing Mr.Azim Premji personal wealth. We also serve as a research team to two Indian private equity energy funds “Small is Beautiful” and “KSK Emerging India Energy Fund”.

OverviewThe Indian equity markets have given a thumbs-up for the Union Budget 2017-18 announced on February 1st,  2017.  The benchmark indices have gone up by close to 10% since previous lows post demonetisation. This vote of confidence by market participants for the budget is mainly on account of the government providing an expansionary budget with a focus on housing, infra, rural and social sectors increasing capital expenditure by 25%, but at the same time maintaining fiscal prudence.  In…

OverviewThe Indian equity markets have given a thumbs-up for the Union Budget 2017-18 announced on February 1st,  2017.  The benchmark indices have gone up by close to 10% since previous lows post demonetisation. This vote of confidence by market participants for the budget is mainly on account of the government providing an expansionary budget with a focus on housing, infra, rural and social sectors increasing capital expenditure by 25%, but at the same time maintaining fiscal prudence.  In…

India Union Budget 2017-18: Popular Without Being Populist

India

iShares MSCI India ETF is an exchange-traded fund incorporated in the USA. The ETF seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI India Index.

iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA US)

Geopolitics: Trump Refines Approach to China

Trump stepped back from direct confrontation with China: In his phone call with Chinese President Xi, Trump acceded to China’s request to honour...

Manu Bhaskaran

Sector Capsule: Sugar Confectionery in India

Headlines Sugar confectionery value sales increased by 16% in 2016, to reach INR78 billion, with volumes increasing by 11% to reach 305,000...

Euromonitor International Ltd.

Economic Survey 2016-17 – Dubious Citations Tell a Story

The Economic Survey is the flagship document of the Ministry of Finance, presented by the Finance Minister to Parliament on a day prior to the...

Hemindra Hazari

Myanmar Travel Report

In line with our process of being on the ground in the countries we invest in, Scott Osheroff, Analyst at Asia Frontier Capital, travelled to...

Asia Frontier Capital

India Union Budget 2017-18: Popular Without Being Populist

OverviewThe Indian equity markets have given a thumbs-up for the Union Budget 2017-18 announced on February 1st, 2017. The benchmark indices have...

Das Capital Management and Advisors