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.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

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

Asia Frontier Capital Travel Report: Laos

Chief Economist & Political Strategist, CrossASEAN Research

Prasenjit K. Basu

Chief Economist & Political Strategist

REAL-Economics.com

Macroeconomics

-The oil majors' favourite refining hub in ASEAN is Singapore, while the crude-oil/gas comes mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Infusion of Saudi capital will help to partially redress that, although Saudi Arabia is only the 7th largest oil-refining country, and ARAMCO has moderate amounts of technological expertise (mainly from its ownership of S-Oil in Korea). -Malaysia and (especially) Indonesia have been wary of "Arabised" or Wahhabi Islam, and see Saudi offers to widen Arabic…

-The oil majors' favourite refining hub in ASEAN is Singapore, while the crude-oil/gas comes mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Infusion of Saudi capital will help to partially redress that, although Saudi Arabia is only the 7th largest oil-refining country, and ARAMCO has moderate amounts of technological expertise (mainly from its ownership of S-Oil in Korea). -Malaysia and (especially) Indonesia have been wary of "Arabised" or Wahhabi Islam, and see Saudi offers to widen Arabic…

King Salman Bearing Gifts: Implications for ASEAN, Oil-Refining and Religion

ASEAN Insight Provider, CrossASEAN Research

Angus Mackintosh

ASEAN Insight Provider

Smartkarma

Smartkarma unites the fragmented investment industry, connecting institutional investors, independent research providers, and corporates within a single network.

Research Reinvented

This week we feature an interview with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/profiles/35" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="accounts:35">Manu Bhaskaran</a> and his team at Centennial Asia, including <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/profiles/48" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="accounts:48">Jason Tan</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/profiles/49" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="accounts:49">Asees Bajaj</a> to canvass their views on South East Asia, with Indonesia a clear leader in their estimation. The volume of output of Insight Providers across ASEAN has picked up significantly this week, so buckle up and enjoy the ride.<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/profiles/48" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="accounts:48">Jason Tan</a> sees the economic gloom in Singapore starting to clear, with a pick up in bank loan growth, though employment prospects still look bleak in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/singapore-the-gloom-is-clearing-but-slowly" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:8596">The</a>…

This week we feature an interview with Manu Bhaskaran and his team at Centennial Asia, including Jason Tan and Asees Bajaj to canvass their views on South East Asia, with Indonesia a clear leader in their estimation. The volume of output of Insight Providers across ASEAN has picked up significantly this week, so buckle up and enjoy the ride.Jason Tan sees the economic gloom in Singapore starting to clear, with a pick up in bank loan growth, though employment prospects still look bleak in The…

The Week that Was in ASEAN@Smartkarma - Politics, Pain and Soap Operas

SGX Market Strategist, Equity & Fixed Income, Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Geoff Howie

SGX Market Strategist, Equity & Fixed Income

Asia’s leading multi-asset exchange

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Singapore Exchange is Asia’s leading and trusted market infrastructure, facilitating the exchange of capital and ideas to create value for people, businesses and economies. As a multi-asset exchange operating equity, fixed income and derivatives markets to the highest regulatory standards, SGX is a vertically integrated business that provides listing, trading, clearing, settlement, depository and data services.

With about 40% of listed companies and over 80% of listed bonds originating outside of Singapore as well as established linkages across the region and in Europe, SGX is Asia’s most international and connected exchange. Offering a full suite of derivatives products across Asian equity indices, commodities and currencies, SGX is the world’s most liquid international market for the benchmark equity indices of China, India, Japan and ASEAN.

As Asia’s pioneering central counterparty, SGX is globally recognised for its risk management and clearing capabilities, and was one of the first globally to adopt the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructure.

Headquartered in AAA-rated Singapore, SGX has over 800 employees including offices in Beijing, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, New York, Mumbai, San Francisco, Shanghai and Tokyo.

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§  The SGX Maritime &amp; Offshore Services (MOE) Index, a benchmark for the MOE Sector, has rebounded 19.7% from its trough on 1 Sep 2016 in tandem with the recovery of crude oil prices, which may be an indication that the sector could be bottoming out.
 
§  Despite the rally, the 18 constituents within the SGX MOE Index are trading at an average current price-to-book (PB) ratio of 0.7x, with 10 of them trading below their book values.
 
§  Consensus estimates are expecting oil prices to stabilise and…
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§  The SGX Maritime &amp; Offshore Services (MOE) Index, a benchmark for the MOE Sector, has rebounded 19.7% from its trough on 1 Sep 2016 in tandem with the recovery of crude oil prices, which may be an indication that the sector could be bottoming out.
 
§  Despite the rally, the 18 constituents within the SGX MOE Index are trading at an average current price-to-book (PB) ratio of 0.7x, with 10 of them trading below their book values.
 
§  Consensus estimates are expecting oil prices to stabilise and…



SGX's MOE Sector Sustains 4Q16 Momentum into 2017

Asean-focused. Ex-Head of Thai Research

Athaporn Arayasantiparb, CFA

In this review, we highlight the importance for investors to: 1) not 'jump the gun' and sell on companies that are in decline; and 2) think logically about the macro picture, since those may have an impact on whether companies can recover or would lose relevance in the marketplace altogether.From our observations, the companies in Thailand that do turn around tend to follow one or more of these four measures, namely: 1) operations: a complete transformation rather than minor patch-ups (eg. KARMART, IVL); 2) competitive strategy: changing the frame of reference (PIZZA...now part of MINT); 3) debt restructuring (BLAND, TPI); and 4) marketing: re-branding (eg. DTAC, BTS). Whether you are stuck with certain investments or thinking about investing in potential turnaround plays, observing these four traits or steps could be helpful.

In this review, we highlight the importance for investors to: 1) not 'jump the gun' and sell on companies that are in decline; and 2) think logically about the macro picture, since those may have an impact on whether companies can recover or would lose relevance in the marketplace altogether.From our observations, the companies in Thailand that do turn around tend to follow one or more of these four measures, namely: 1) operations: a complete transformation rather than minor patch-ups (eg. KARMART, IVL); 2) competitive strategy: changing the frame of reference (PIZZA...now part of MINT); 3) debt restructuring (BLAND, TPI); and 4) marketing: re-branding (eg. DTAC, BTS). Whether you are stuck with certain investments or thinking about investing in potential turnaround plays, observing these four traits or steps could be helpful.

Turnarounds: Finding A Phoenix In the Land of the Dead

Thailand

Thai Oil is an integrated energy company engaged in oil refining and petrochemicals, producing a diverse range of products including refined fuels, petrochemicals, and base lubricating oils. It operates one of the leading complex refineries in Asia Pacific with a current capacity of 275,000 barrels per day. The company was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Thai Oil (TOP-R TB)

Asia Frontier Capital Travel Report: Laos

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

Asia Frontier Capital

King Salman Bearing Gifts: Implications for ASEAN, Oil-Refining and Religion

-The oil majors' favourite refining hub in ASEAN is Singapore, while the crude-oil/gas comes mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Infusion...

Prasenjit K. Basu

The Week that Was in ASEAN@Smartkarma - Politics, Pain and Soap Operas

This week we feature an interview with Manu Bhaskaran and his team at Centennial Asia, including Jason Tan and Asees Bajaj to canvass their views...

Angus Mackintosh

SGX's MOE Sector Sustains 4Q16 Momentum into 2017

§ The SGX Maritime & Offshore Services (MOE) Index, a benchmark for the MOE Sector, has rebounded 19.7% from its trough on 1 Sep 2016 in...

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Turnarounds: Finding A Phoenix In the Land of the Dead

In this review, we highlight the importance for investors to: 1) not 'jump the gun' and sell on companies that are in decline; and 2) think...

Athaporn Arayasantiparb, CFA

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)