Founder of Antler Capital

Stanley Tsai, CFA

Macroeconomics

<ul>
<li>Markets will likely look at Jan's TSF data in a favorable light. The record loan growth was particularly encouraging, despite being boosted by a degree of bank credit reintermediation.</li>
<li>Corporate lending was robust, driven concurrently by a surge in long-term loans and working capital financing. However, the outlook for mortgages remains grim. Consumers appear unmoved by falling home prices.</li>
<li>We believe the PBOC's easing bias will continue. A cut in the 5-year LPR may be the next sensible move. RRR cuts, while possible in 2023, may cause longer-term pain.</li>
</ul>


Markets will likely look at Jan's TSF data in a favorable light. The record loan growth was particularly encouraging, despite being boosted by a degree of bank credit reintermediation.
Corporate lending was robust, driven concurrently by a surge in long-term loans and working capital financing. However, the outlook for mortgages remains grim. Consumers appear unmoved by falling home prices.
We believe the PBOC's easing bias will continue. A cut in the 5-year LPR may be the next sensible move. RRR cuts, while possible in 2023, may cause longer-term pain.


China Macro: A Blowout Month for New Loans, but Consumers Remain Timid

<ul>
<li>The slightly weaker-than-expected inflation numbers for Jan represent a delay and not a detour from the broader reopening story. Investors will likely benefit from improved visibility in the months ahead. </li>
<li>The recovery in the PPI has been dragged by upward sticky factory gate prices for smaller producers downstream. This is consistent with our analysis of the Jan PMI.</li>
<li>A sustained improvement in consumer activity will likely drive PPI up to 0% and CPI to 2.5% by March.</li>
</ul>


The slightly weaker-than-expected inflation numbers for Jan represent a delay and not a detour from the broader reopening story. Investors will likely benefit from improved visibility in the months ahead. 
The recovery in the PPI has been dragged by upward sticky factory gate prices for smaller producers downstream. This is consistent with our analysis of the Jan PMI.
A sustained improvement in consumer activity will likely drive PPI up to 0% and CPI to 2.5% by March.


China Macro: Jan CPI / PPI | Much Better Visibility Ahead

Technical Analyst, Vermilion Research

Joe Jasper

Technical Analyst

Technical and Quantitative Research

Vermilion Research

Vermilion’s objective is to deliver timely, actionable, and unique technical research to professional investors through the application of our various technical indicators.

Our research strategists seek to highlight securities which we believe are at major inflection points, based on our various technical and quantitative indicators, and offer asymmetric risk/return profiles. Our unique research methodology, centered on relative strength, enables our strategists to deliver superior investment recommendations.

Our process begins by organizing the universe of actively traded stocks into discrete sectors, then into industry groups. We then apply our technical and quantitative tools to identify developing price trends. Once attractive trends are identified within a selected sector or group, we screen for individual stocks which we believe offer the best risk/reward profile. We provide a historical perspective that often reveals, through our long-term charts, how price patterns often repeat themselves over time.

Technical Analysis

<ul>
<li>The MSCI EM vs.EAFE ratio (local currency) shows EM has outperformed relative to EAFE since the DXY peaked in November 2022, and also shows signs of reversing the 2-year downtrend.</li>
<li>As long as the DXY remains below $103.50-$106, we expect outperformance from EM to continue.</li>
<li>China/Hong Kong, Greece, South Africa, and Mexico stand out as attractive countries. Our top actionable Sectors include Communications, Consumer Discretionary, and Technology. We highlight 76 attractive EM stocks.</li>
</ul>


The MSCI EM vs.EAFE ratio (local currency) shows EM has outperformed relative to EAFE since the DXY peaked in November 2022, and also shows signs of reversing the 2-year downtrend.
As long as the DXY remains below $103.50-$106, we expect outperformance from EM to continue.
China/Hong Kong, Greece, South Africa, and Mexico stand out as attractive countries. Our top actionable Sectors include Communications, Consumer Discretionary, and Technology. We highlight 76 attractive EM stocks.


EM Outperformance to Continue (Vs. EAFE) -- Add on a Pullback; DXY Needs to Hold Below $106

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>The Jan. PMI readings corroborate what investors had already known over the break. But it is noteworthy that SMEs appear much less upbeat than large corporations.  </li>
<li>SMEs account for 60% of GDP and an even higher proportion of job creation. Policy support has been keeping many of them afloat throughout the pandemic. </li>
<li>As the deadline on the PBOC's SME support program is fast approaching, small regional banks may bear the brunt of the impact on the financial system.</li>
</ul>


The Jan. PMI readings corroborate what investors had already known over the break. But it is noteworthy that SMEs appear much less upbeat than large corporations.  
SMEs account for 60% of GDP and an even higher proportion of job creation. Policy support has been keeping many of them afloat throughout the pandemic. 
As the deadline on the PBOC's SME support program is fast approaching, small regional banks may bear the brunt of the impact on the financial system.


China's Micro Loan Market: Key Takeaways from the Jan PMI

<ul>
<li>The PBOC has extended the use of its policy tools to support the green loan industry as part of the country's' drive towards carbon neutrality.</li>
<li>China's green loan market is already the largest in the world, if you agree with its definitions and can look past its limitations.</li>
<li>The state of green finance matters to investors, and not just those with explicit ESG mandates. We look at the potential pitfalls in the China.</li>
</ul>


The PBOC has extended the use of its policy tools to support the green loan industry as part of the country's' drive towards carbon neutrality.
China's green loan market is already the largest in the world, if you agree with its definitions and can look past its limitations.
The state of green finance matters to investors, and not just those with explicit ESG mandates. We look at the potential pitfalls in the China.


China's Green Loan Market: Fifty Shades of Green

China

The Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index is a capitalization-weighted index. The index tracks the daily price performance of all A-shares and B-shares listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The index was developed on December 19, 1990 with a base value of 100. 

Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index (SHCOMP INDEX)

Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index (SHCOMP INDEX)

China Macro: A Blowout Month for New Loans, but Consumers Remain Timid

New loans totaled a whopping CNY4.9 trillion in Jan. Overall, the surge in corporate lending was solid. The outlook is much grimmer for mortgages....

Stanley Tsai, CFA

China Macro: Jan CPI / PPI | Much Better Visibility Ahead

Inflation data for Jan, while slightly softer than expected, should be encouraging in that we've not had such high visibility for a long time in...

Stanley Tsai, CFA

EM Outperformance to Continue (Vs. EAFE) -- Add on a Pullback; DXY Needs to Hold Below $106

EM vs. EAFE ratio (local currency) shows EM has outperformed relative to EAFE since the $DXY peaked in November 2022. If the DXY remains below...

Vermilion Research

China's Micro Loan Market: Key Takeaways from the Jan PMI

For the most part, the Jan PMI gauges were in line with investor expectations, although the more pessimistic SME sector may be a cause for concern...

Stanley Tsai, CFA

China's Green Loan Market: Fifty Shades of Green

The PBOC is stepping up its efforts to channel financing to "green" industries. But how green is green? The answer may have implications for...

Stanley Tsai, CFA