Chile ETF Rallying on Copper, China Growth
January 25th 2013 at 7:56am by Tom Lydon
An ETF indexed to Chile, the world’s largest copper producer, has climbed 9% the past three months on a rebound in the commodity’s price and a resurgence in China’s economy.
The performance of the iShares MSCI Chile Index (NYSEArca: ECH) is tied to copper, and Chile is a top supplier of the metal to China.
“ECH’s underperformance (last year) may have been due to concerns about declining demand from China, which saw its economy slow. Chile sells a lot of copper to China. This week Beijing reported that GDP grew at a greater-than-expected 7.9%,” Roger Nusbaum wrote for The Street. [Chile ETF for a Diversified Commodity Play]
Another important facet of Chile is that it is the only emerging market country that has privatized social security, Nusbaum reports. A portion of all working employees paychecks goes into equity and fixed-income investments, creating a constant demand for Chilean equities.
ECH gained about 8% last year, compared to 15% for the broad based iShares MSCI Emerging Market Index Fund (NYSEArca: EEM).
The rise in copper prices is expected to be profitable for one of the largest copper exporters in the world, reports Bret Jensen at Seeking Alpha. The trade surplus in widening in Chile and GDP growth is expected to post between 4.25% and 5.25% this year. [Chile, Peru Stand Out in Emerging Market ETFs]
Furthermore, Chile is stable, has solid regulations and low levels of corruption coupled with a particularly strong banking and finance sector, according to the report. It is one of the most advanced economies in Latin America. [Emerging Market ETFs as a Dividend Play]
“Chile’s economy is home to the region’s most sophisticated banking system, has thriving tourism and agriculture sectors and is one of the world’s top producers of metals such as copper and iron ore,” reports David Sterman for Investing Answers.
Another ETF to gain exposure to Chile is through the WisdomTree Commodity Country Equity Fund ETF (NYSEArca: CCXE) which gives 12.2% of the portfolio exposure to Chile. The fund focuses on dividend paying companies in various countries.
iShares MSCI Chile Index
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.
