Outperforming Regional and Global Benchmarks

ASEAN as a whole has seen relative outperformance YTD, mainly underpinned by i) accelerating, broad economic reopening, supporting corporate earnings and GDP recovery; ii) predominantly old economy-dominated equity markets that have seen their valuation attractions boosted by years of relative underperformance & deflated foreign ownership, and iii) a comparatively less aggressive multi-speed monetary policy normalisation & tightening.

Our ASEAN country heads of research remain constructive on the market upside, especially as 1Q22 reporting has generally delivered on expectations of a sharp earnings rebound post-economic reopening.

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Sustainable Finance: The Big Shift is Visible

Hear from our special speakers from Asian Development Bank, SGX, Sustainable Finance Institute of Asia and Bank of Ayudhya as they tackle key topics such as; how have recent events changed the thinking on sustainable finance? What are some of ASEAN's key achievements in green financing? What else can be done besides targeting green assets? Are SMEs going to be left behind? What tools and financing options are available for them to transition to a green economy?

Malaysia : Positioning for Alpha

Our analyst, Chan Han Chin observes that Malaysia's equity market may have found a bottom. He explains the evidence supporting his positive outlook. He also shares his views on the ideal window for an early election and the potential beneficiaries for Malaysian listed companies, including a call on two top picks.

Forget ROI. How's your ROSI?

Tensie Whelan, Clinical Professor of Business and Society, NYU Stern School of Business is the esteemed speaker for this talk. ESG drives better financial performance yet many people still argue the business case. Why? Professor Whelan talks candidly about the challenges in ESG investing and what is preventing most companies from monetising the return on sustainability investment. She provides her unique take on how to implement sustainability reporting and measurement in NUY Stern's proprietary model called Return on Sustainability Investment (ROSI).

Malaysia: Shifting Into Higher Gear

Compared to the relatively downbeat assessment of Malaysia's broad ESG positioning as articulated in our maiden Compendium ("Sustainability: No longer optional", dated April 8), the last 18 months has seen a sharp acceleration in Sustainability initiatives by government, regulators and corporates alike. Crucially, these stepped-up measures, disclosures and targets demonstrate rising cohesion and integration across stakeholders, significantly increasing the chances of successful execution as well as the creation of a positive feedback loop.

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ASEAN Increasingly Complementary with China

In 2020, for the first time since China's reforms, ASEAN became its largest trading partner, while the EU is second, followed by the US.

With rising wages, the US-China trade and tech war, as well as China's rapid industrial upgrading, ASEAN has become increasingly complementary with China.

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