EM Fund Stock Picks & Country Commentaries (May 12, 2024)

Passive investors have broken the markets, HK's dividend-rich environment, reflections on 30 years of EM investing, top 10 market risks, list of Chinese stocks doing buybacks, Heineken's refresh, etc.

As we enter mid-May, there are some annual reports, international fund letters, more new research, and an excellent podcast interview of a value investor available:

• Platinum Asset Management has this short piece about Heineken NV (AMS: HEIA / FRA: HNK1 / OTCMKTS: HINKF / HEINY) which owns breweries or has stock listings for their local operations in various EMs around the world: Heineken: refreshing the parts (1:43 Minute) - Heineken's newish CEO is cutting costs and lifting productivity at the Dutch giant. But there's plenty of other reasons to invest in the world's second biggest brewer - as Platinum's Andrew Baud explains.

• Matthews Asia has these pieces:

  • 🇨🇳 This is a lengthy piece: Two China Questions - In this issue of Sinology, Andy Rothman offers his perspective on two key questions:

    • The Chinese economy is doing fairly well, so why are Chinese entrepreneurs and households so pessimistic, and what could turn that around?

    • Will the political relationship between Washington and Beijing remain tense after the U.S. elections, and how much will that matter to the Chinese economy?

  • These are shorter pieces:

    • 🇨🇳 🇮🇳 How Small Caps Can Navigate China’s Growth Challenges and India’s Valuations - Vivek Tanneeru reviews the positioning of the Matthews China Small Companies Fund (NASDAQ: MCSMX).

    • 🇮🇳 India Strategies for Maximizing Returns - How to embrace a selective approach to manage the rich valuations of a growth market… Actively hunting for opportunities close to and further away from popular investment areas is key to getting the best from India…