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

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

There is one clear upside and two potential downsides from the current trajectory of policy and economic activity in the US.First, the economy appears to be in a positive spiral, likely to boost Asian exports by more than expected:The upside surprise in US manufacturing is just the beginning of more upside surprises in the US, a virtuous upward spiral is emerging:<ul><li>
Fed’s Beige Book revealed tightening labour markets and rising wages: Anecdotal information from Jan 17 to mid-Feb 17 pointed towards…</li></ul>

There is one clear upside and two potential downsides from the current trajectory of policy and economic activity in the US.First, the economy appears to be in a positive spiral, likely to boost Asian exports by more than expected:The upside surprise in US manufacturing is just the beginning of more upside surprises in the US, a virtuous upward spiral is emerging:
Fed’s Beige Book revealed tightening labour markets and rising wages: Anecdotal information from Jan 17 to mid-Feb 17 pointed towards…

How Much Risk Does the US Pose to Asian Economies?

Macroeconomics

South China Sea: US and China remain the key despite ASEAN efforts<ul><li>
US blows hot and cold with China: Despite US Secretary of State Tillerson’s amicable conversation with China’s State Councillor Yang Jiechi when they re-affirmed the importance of a constructive US-China relationship, a US carrier group led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson began ‘routine operations’ in the South China Sea. This appears to be a sign that the Trump Administration might want to push back harder on China’s…</li></ul>

South China Sea: US and China remain the key despite ASEAN efforts
US blows hot and cold with China: Despite US Secretary of State Tillerson’s amicable conversation with China’s State Councillor Yang Jiechi when they re-affirmed the importance of a constructive US-China relationship, a US carrier group led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson began ‘routine operations’ in the South China Sea. This appears to be a sign that the Trump Administration might want to push back harder on China’s…

US and China Push Their Respective Envelopes

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Having followed North Korea for more than 20+ years, the announcement over the weekend that China will stop importing coal from North Korea from February 19th to end of this year is probably one of the most pivotal events that I have seen that could snowball into eventually toppling the North Korean regime. Coal is North Korea's biggest export product. In 2015, North Korea's exports to China totaled US$2.48 billion, of which coal represented 42%.Many traders and investors in South Korean…

Having followed North Korea for more than 20+ years, the announcement over the weekend that China will stop importing coal from North Korea from February 19th to end of this year is probably one of the most pivotal events that I have seen that could snowball into eventually toppling the North Korean regime. Coal is North Korea's biggest export product. In 2015, North Korea's exports to China totaled US$2.48 billion, of which coal represented 42%.Many traders and investors in South Korean…

No Coal Exports from North Korea to China in 2017 - Turning Off the Money Spigot to North Korea?

Global Asset Allocation, Politics & Governance, Ecstrat

John-Paul Smith

Global Asset Allocation, Politics & Governance

Ecstrat

Ecstrat is a consultancy advising on asset allocation between global equity markets, with a focus on the intersection of governments, geopolitics, governance and markets.
 
Over the past few years and more especially since the Great Financial Crisis (GFC), investors have become more focused on short-term market movements and real-time returns and have consequently neglected the analysis of the underlying structural themes that underpin longer term performance.
​
More specifically we believe that the evolution of governance-based relationships between investors, controlling shareholders, labour and the state is one of the primary determinants of both relative and absolute performance between individual equity markets.
 
We will endeavour to provide investors with some of the context surrounding governance-related issues which encompass many different disciplines including history, economics and political science, as well as the financial metrics which are the most obvious manifestation of the structural characteristics of each market.
 
We will pay particular attention to the shifts and potential inflection points for governance in individual markets as these are often the best lead indicators for both economic and market performance.

Cross Asset Strategy

Korea underperformed the main EM benchmark in 2016, but only by a very marginal amount. The main features of the market were the underperformance of mid and especially smaller company shares, with the MSCI Korea Small Cap index down by 15.5%, a full 25 percentage points lower than the MSCI Korea Index, this being one of my few successful predictions made at the start of 2016. The strong performance of the main market despite a year of relatively sluggish growth accompanied by some real distress…

Korea underperformed the main EM benchmark in 2016, but only by a very marginal amount. The main features of the market were the underperformance of mid and especially smaller company shares, with the MSCI Korea Small Cap index down by 15.5%, a full 25 percentage points lower than the MSCI Korea Index, this being one of my few successful predictions made at the start of 2016. The strong performance of the main market despite a year of relatively sluggish growth accompanied by some real distress…

Korea: Chaebol Under Pressure but Who Will Benefit? (Part 4 of 7)

<ul>
<li>
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>
<li>
North Korean missile test not a huge deal: The test…</li>
</ul>



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

South Korea

Samsung KODEX Securities ETF is an Exchange Traded Fund established in South Korea. The Fund's objective is to provide investment return that tracks the KRX Securities Index. The Fund invests 60% or more in equities, with a portfolio of KRX Securities Index holdings with low risk and high 
liquidity based on the Sampling Method.

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Samsung Kodex Securities ETF (102970 KS)

How Much Risk Does the US Pose to Asian Economies?

There is one clear upside and two potential downsides from the current trajectory of policy and economic activity in the US.First, the economy...

Manu Bhaskaran

US and China Push Their Respective Envelopes

South China Sea: US and China remain the key despite ASEAN efforts US blows hot and cold with China: Despite US Secretary of State Tillerson’s...

Manu Bhaskaran

No Coal Exports from North Korea to China in 2017 - Turning Off the Money Spigot to North Korea?

Having followed North Korea for more than 20+ years, the announcement over the weekend that China will stop importing coal from North Korea from...

Douglas Kim

Korea: Chaebol Under Pressure but Who Will Benefit? (Part 4 of 7)

Korea underperformed the main EM benchmark in 2016, but only by a very marginal amount. The main features of the market were the underperformance...

John-Paul Smith

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

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52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

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