As at Dec 31, 2022, the trailing 12-month return on equity to Asean equities was 9.4%, versus 12.9% for EM equities and 10.6% for Asia ex-Japan equities.
Earnings growth for Asean equities had been more resilient in 2022 and is forecast to remain so in 2023, Boston-based investment firm Cambridge Associates (CA) highlights in its Asean equities report.
CA’s regional head for Asia Aaron Costello and associate investment director for capital markets research Vivian Gan point out that Asean’s sectoral overweight to financials as well as its underweight to growth and technology sectors imply that corporate profitability has lagged that of its emerging markets (EM) and Asia ex-Japan counterparts in recent years.
