To The Moon

Nikko AM Shenton Emerging Enterprise Discovery Fund highlights 22 March 2024 Watch Grace Yan, Senior Portfolio Manager of Asian Equity, who manages this award-winning fund as she shares with us on how investing in stocks of Asia ex-Japan smaller companies can be advantageous to an investors’ portfolio. Important information: This video is prepared by Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. and/or its affiliates (Nikko AM) and is for distribution only under such circumstances as may be permitted by applicable laws. This video does not constitute personal investment advice or a personal recommendation and it does not consider in any way the objectives, financial situation or needs of any recipients. All recipients are recommended to consult with their independent tax, financial and legal advisers p

Naomi Fink, Global Strategist 28 March 2024 Excerpts from related insights article titled “BOJ takes significant yet incremental step on path back to “normal” rates” Important information: This video is prepared by Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. and/or its affiliates (Nikko AM) and is for distribution only under such circumstances as may be permitted by applicable laws. This video does not constitute personal investment advice or a personal recommendation and it does not consider in any way the objectives, financial situation or needs of any recipients. All recipients are recommended to consult with their independent tax, financial and legal advisers prior to any investment. This video is for information purposes only and is not intended to be an offer, or a solicitation of an offer, to

End of negative rates, yield curve control and ETF purchases smoothly digested Naomi Fink, Global Strategist 29 March 2024 The “trial balloons” of media announcements in advance of today’s interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) —its first in 17 years—apparently did their job, as the end of its negative interest rate policy, yield curve control (YCC)[1] and ETF purchases were smoothly digested by markets. Indeed, the BOJ had already embraced greater flexibility on YCC and has significantly decreased its ETF purchases well prior to the policy decision. Neither the yen nor the Nikkei showed extraordinary movements, and Japanese Government Bond (JGB) 10-year yields so far remain contained below 80 basis points (bps). In prior speeches (e.g. Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida’s much talked-

Future Quality in a changing world. 20 December 2023 Global Equity Team Watch our Global Equity Outlook 2024 video below: Financial regulators like to say that past investment performance is no clear indicator of future performance. Yet, we investors often look to the past to glean an indication of what future market conditions may be like. There are often patterns that can be exploited or traps that may be avoided. As we head into 2024, however, the past may not provide the usual useful insights. From a macro perspective, central banks’ experimentation with quantitative easing—which provided relatively benign market conditions since the Global Financial Crisis—is being unwound and this “quantitative tightening” is new territory for policymakers and investors. At the same time, we seem to

Focus on growth pockets, quality opportunities and earnings resilience. 13 December 2023 Asian Equity Team Watch our ASEAN Equity Outlook 2024 video below: ASEAN well placed for growth in 2024 Global monetary tightening and the dollar’s exceptional strength stood out in 2023, and these factors were a major headwind for most emerging markets including ASEAN. In our view, focus in 2024 will shift from interest rate tightening towards growth, or more specifically, finding pockets of growth amid a slowing global economy. We expect ASEAN to perform relatively well as the region, in our view, possesses a relatively stronger growth narrative and a more accommodative policy backdrop.  ASEAN’s growth as a region is poised to edge up from an estimated 4.0% in 2023 to 4.5% in 2024*. Though incr

9 January 2024 Asian Fixed Income Team Sector Outlooks Financials and non-bank financials Higher interest rates had a net positive impact on the banking sector in Asia through 2023. Banks were able to add pre-emptively to their coffers for non-performing assets and raise their capital buffer, while recording manageable unrealised losses on their portfolio of financial securities due to their strong banking franchise and limited reliance on financial securities for income. As the fundamentally strong financial institutions exude enduring strength and resilience, the divergence taking place within the sector is difficult to ignore. Amid a dynamic operating environment owing to macroeconomic headwinds and geopolitical risks, the main problems plaguing the sector—high household debt against G

Fundamentals and technicals to remain supportive. 9 January 2024 Asian Fixed Income Team Fundamentals Macro The year 2023 turned out differently than we initially envisioned. Throughout 2023, investors have eagerly watched US jobs data and inflationary readings, debating the timing of the last rate hike. Recent rhetoric from Fed officials suggests the central bank is not ruling out another increase in 2023, as labour market conditions remain tight, business activity continues to be more robust than expected and inflation stays above the Fed’s 2% target. Global growth defied any kind of recessionary expectations although interest rates have been raised further and cuts that the market anticipated continue to be postponed. The current macro and market backdrop may see little or minor change

Domestic consolidation, long-term reform measures ahead. 27 December 2023 Japan Equity Team Watch our Japan Equity Outlook 2024 video below: Introduction Japanese equities scaled impressive heights in 2023, with the TOPIX and the Nikkei Stock Average reaching their highest levels since 1990 and outperforming almost all global peers to become the envy of the developed world (1). We expect 2024 to be a year of domestic consolidation and long-term reform measures, where markets are driven more by Japan-specific events than by global factors. After decades of deflation, we see Japan as finally breaking out of this cycle in 2024, as it enters a virtuous cycle of price increases and wage hikes. Wage increases to kick-start domestic growth Japan is on the cusp of transitioning to an inflationary

Technology, services and energy transition seen as bright spots. 13 December 2023 Asian Equity Team Overview The Singapore equity market in 2023 turned out to be more subdued than we had expected at the beginning of the year. However, we believe a stronger confluence of positive drivers could come together for Singapore equities in 2024. We see positives on both the technology (tech) and services sectors of the Singapore economy, and external demand is likely to be stronger in aggregate. We also believe that Singapore’s corporate earnings will continue to expand in 2024 following two stellar years of growth. In our view, 2024 can offer abundant opportunities, and we believe that our “New Singapore” narrative focusing on sectors and companies that represent the future of the city-state rem

Written by: SG Budget Babe, March 3, 2023 10 minute read There’s no doubt that electric vehicles (EVs) are the future. But the question is, who will win the EV race? Will it be Tesla, Nio, Rivian, Xpeng, BYD, Hyundai or perhaps Ford? A few weeks ago, the Internet was abuzz after Elon Musk said that he expects Tesla’s main rival to be a Chinese player. Could that be BYD, Nio or Geely? While only time will tell which Chinese player will emerge champion, one thing is certain: we cannot underestimate China when it comes to the growing EV industry. After all, China’s plans were already underway more than a decade ago (while other countries were still debating over whether climate change was indeed a real threat), and the government began subsidizing EV sales as early as 2010 when the industry