Growth opportunities heading into 2023 aren’t too difficult to come by if investors know where to look. Overseas, for example, could be an option — specifically Southeast Asia.
An article in The Edge Markets highlighted Southeast Asia as a potent growth opportunity. It’s a rarity, given that emerging markets (EM) in general have suffered for most of 2022 given a strong dollar and rising global inflation.
“In a global economy facing a protracted period of weak growth and high inflation, Southeast Asia is a rare reason for optimism, with strong fundamentals, accelerating growth and a bright future,” the article said. “The region showcased its potential recently when it hosted global leaders for both the APEC meeting in Bangkok and the G20 Summit in Bali.”
This is a win-win for investors, particularly those who are prepping their portfolios for growth. After a rough 2022, there are value opportunities to be extracted from the current markets, especially in those outside the U.S. such as Southeast Asia.
“Southeast Asia is primed for growth,” the article said further. “Amid a flood of global downgrades, the Asian Development Bank’s September Outlook upgraded its forecast for the region’s GDP growth from 4.9% to 5.1%. We expect Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam to grow by 3.2% to 7.6% this year despite economic uncertainties and volatility.”
Get Southeast Asia Exposure in 1 ETF
Getting Southeast Asian exposure doesn’t mean having to dive into the vast universe of stock opportunities available or get access to a foreign stock exchange outside of the U.S. Exposure is available in the convenience of one exchange traded fund (ETF): the Global X FTSE Southeast Asia ETF (ASEA).
ASEA seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the FTSE/ASEAN 40 Index. The underlying index tracks the equity performance of the 40 largest and most liquid companies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regions: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
The rise in commodities, as mentioned by the Reuters report, is focused on Indonesia and Malaysia. ASEA effectively gives exposure to this pair of countries as a way to play the inflation in commodities.
ASEA fund highlights:
- Efficient access to a broad basket of Southeast Asian securities.
- Targeted exposure to a specific region.
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