“The Taiwanese, Philippine and South Korean stock markets also warrant over-emphases on account of their stable political regimes, reliable policymaking climates and healthy economic prognoses,” said S&P Capital IQ. [Asia ETFs That Institutional Investors Love]
For 2015, Morgan Stanley “said the Philippines was the best-positioned market due to its ample liquidity, strong forecast gross domestic product growth and low levels of credit penetration,” reports The Star.
A stronger U.S. dollar is helping Philippine stocks beyond lower oil prices. Foreign remittances are now worth more when converted into pesos, helping boost the local economy. EPHE allocates nearly 12% of its weight to consumer sectors.
In fact, the Philippines has already issued dollar-denominated bonds this year, becoming the first emerging market to do so. The Philippines can afford to do that because its external funding costs are low relative to other developing economies and the country has an investment-grade rating from all three major ratings agencies.
iShares MSCI Philippines ETF
