Rising geopolitical tensions, increasing trade restrictions, commodity supply shocks, concentration risks, weather and environmental concerns have driven the need for global companies and governments to diversify their supply chains and bring back “near-shore” production capabilities.

Global investors are now looking to Mexico as a means of hedging trade risk, given its geographic proximity and ample trade interconnectivity with the US. Mexico has also increased its share of US trade, surpassing both China and Canada for the first time as the main trading partner of the US.

Tune in to our latest episode with Miguel Aguayo, Bank of Singapore’s Fixed Income research analyst, as he shares more on the outlook ahead for Mexico, and why investors should explore enhancing their portfolios with Mexican assets in the form of bonds, currency or even stocks.

In an environment where interest rates are expected to stay high for an extended period, how will this impact Singaporean companies? Furthermore, given the geopolitical tensions and the sizzling interest in Generative AI, is there a role for Singapore in this ever-changing landscape?

Singapore is an open economy and can be vulnerable to economic fluctuations in the surrounding region. However, Singapore remains an attractive market for companies trying to diversify their operating bases and reduce risks, especially for the ease of doing business.

Additionally, Singapore banking is the bright spot in the local market - outperforming several key Asian equity indices as well as global banking sector indices. Going forward, with more intra-regional trades and growing interconnectivity, Singapore banks should be able to leverage on their regional footprints to continue to expand their business reach and embark on more cross-selling opportunities. 

Tune in to our latest episode with Carmen Lee, Bank of Singapore’s senior Singapore investment strategist, as she shares more on the outlook ahead.

In our latest episode of Bank of Singapore Unplugged, our specialists deep-dive into the outlook ahead for China.

After a challenging past few years, global investors now appear to be revisiting risk assets in China. The most commonly cited reasons behind this renewed interest include more concrete and concerted policy action, potential bottoming in earnings revisions and attractive valuations. However, are these going to be enough for us to see a sustained recovery in China and how should investors be positioned? 

What makes this rally in Chinese equities different from the failed rebounds over the past two years? Also, what are some of the key trends and events which investors should be paying attention to for the second half of 2024?

Tune in to our latest episode featuring:

In our latest episode, we take a closer look at China’s property sector, and how recent policy changes have brought about renewed optimism amongst investors.

Notably, the biggest highlight, was the provision of up to CNY500b of loans to local governments for the purchase of unsold completed properties to be converted into affordable housing. 60% of this will be funded by a low cost 1-year PBoC relending facility which is extendable 4 times. 

Although the scale of the facility and the absence of central government involvement have underwhelmed the market’s earlier expectations of CNY1 trillion, other demand-side easing measures such as the reduction of mortgage downpayment ratios to historical low levels of 15% for first homes and 25% for second homes have surprised positively.

Tune in to our latest episode with Boh Hui Ling, Senior Fixed Income Research Analyst, to find out more about how these policy developments might impact investors and the outlook ahead for China’s property sector.

At the end of last month, the JPY fell to a 34-year low at 160 against the USD before rebounding sharply. The Ministry of Finance, responsible for exchange rate policy in Japan, appears to have instructed the Bank of Japan to sell greenbacks from its USD1 trillion of FX reserves on April 29 and again on May 2 to stop the JPY weakening further.

Though officials have not confirmed yet whether Tokyo did act to defend the JPY, the consensus amongst investors, analysts and financial journalists, claims intervention to support the currency will be futile.

However, Bank of Singapore’s Chief Economist, Mansoor Mohi-uddin, disagrees with this consensus, believing that Tokyo’s actions may be an important turning point for the JPY.

Tune in to our latest episode to find out more about the outlook ahead.

In our latest episode of Bank of Singapore Unplugged, our specialists deep-dive into the outlook for sustainability and corporate governance in Asia.

Lately, governments across the region are introducing more incentives to get companies across various industries “sustainability-ready”. Investors are becoming increasingly focused on sustainability, not just for altruistic reasons, but also because of its importance to resilience of long-term portfolios. Good corporate governance has also been in the limelight more recently, which we believe can be important in helping certain companies close their valuation discount gap to peers.

What are the latest developments for ESG, and how should investors position themselves to best capture the opportunities out there?

Tune in to our latest episode featuring:

In the ever-evolving landscape of global markets, UK equities often find themselves in the shadows of their counterparts. However recent signs show that the UK may at last be at a major turning point, after a dismal decade of political disorder, economic instability, and lengthy market underperformance. The bear case for UK assets is well known, but there are reasons to believe that the UK’s economic cycle is turning up now.

Tune in to our latest episode with Low Pei Han, Head of Equity Research at Bank of Singapore, to find out more about the outlook ahead.

The US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) FOMC meeting in March conveyed important dovish signals which will continue to set off powerful reflationary tailwinds for risk assets.

Despite risks of near-term volatility, we believe the broader tailwinds behind the market rally remain intact. Bank of Singapore remains overall overweight in equities, and we expect the maturing rally to broaden out from the “Magnificent Seven” into the rest of tech and other sectors, including healthcare, consumer staples and utilities. We also anticipate undervalued markets and mid-small caps to benefit from the inflection point in interest rates.

Tune in to our latest episode with our Chief Investment Strategist, Eli Lee, to find out more about the outlook ahead.

In our latest episode of Bank of Singapore Unplugged, our specialists deep-dive into the outlook for developed market banks.

The woes in commercial real estate, especially in the US are well documented, however, concerns are now spreading to lenders of some distressed assets, putting global financial companies in the spotlight.

More recently, one of the banks in the US reported a larger-than-expected allowance for loan losses arising primarily from its material commercial real estate exposure, and this has made investors somewhat nervous about banks again.

Is this likely to be a structural concern for global banks? Additionally, with the street now expecting interest rates to fall especially in the second half of the year, what does this mean for the outlook of the financial sector?
Tune in to our latest episode featuring:

Japan’s stock market is off to a roaring start this year, up almost 20% ytd, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index just shy of the 40,000 level last week.

Japan has been breaching new 34-year highs over the past 12 months, thanks to a combination of positive macro and micro factors.

For investors who are “Big in Japan”, the question would be, what’s next for this buoyant market when Spring comes?

Tune in to our latest episode with Global CIO, Jean Chia, to find out more about the outlook ahead.