SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The world’s biggest asset manager, BlackRock Inc, called out oil stocks, domestic tourism and debt in China and India as investment opportunities in its Asia outlook on Wednesday.
The manager of $6.5 trillion in assets expects it may be 2022 at the earliest before global growth returns to trend but said in a statement outlining its regional outlook that “Asia stands out” as a beneficiary when the recovery arrives.
“We like China across the credit spectrum,” said Neeraj Seth, the fund manager’s head of Asian credit, since it is buttressed by strong government stimulus.
He said state-owned businesses were favoured in the investment grade category and the real estate sector preferred in the high-yield category, while India’s quasi-sovereign debt and bonds funding renewable energy also presented opportunities.
Oil majors, domestic travel and tourism stocks and carry-trade plays in Indonesia and India, as well as online businesses are chief among opportunities in equities, said Stephen Andrews, the fund’s co-head of global emerging market equities.
“We are focusing on the post-coronavirus world,” he said.
“We see oil prices rising from the current $30 plus range over our (1.5-2 year) investment horizon,” he added, and said price-to-book values in India and Indonesia are at 1-2 decade lows.
On Wednesday, Asian stocks jumped to a three-month high and riskier currencies surged against the dollar as markets looked beyond near-term risks to a bright recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
BlackRock expects the U.S. dollar to weaken over the next two quarters.
(Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
