Die Frontier-Märkte hatten im August einen guten Monat und entwickelten sich besser als die Industrieländer oder die Emerging Markets. Besonders kräftig legten die Kurse in Kuwait und Vietnam zu, auch Bahrain stach positiv aus der Entwicklung hervor. In diesem erfreulichen Marktumfeld konnte der T. Rowe Price Frontier Markets Equity Fund (WKN A1166Y, ISIN LU1079764939) eine attraktive Wertentwicklung von +8,43 Prozent auf USD-Basis verzeichnen. Über die Änderungen im Portfolio und neue Investments auf Einzeltitelebene informiert FondsManager Oliver Bell in seinem Monatsbericht für August. Dort liefert der Frontier-Markets-Experte die neuesten Details über den in der Strategie SJB Stars enthaltenen Aktienfonds.
Frontier equities had a strong month, outperforming their developed and emerging counterparts. Index-heavyweights Kuwait and Vietnam both generated solid positive returns, while Bahrain was one of the top-performing markets in the region over the month. Within the portfolio, our off-benchmark holding in Mobile World Investment had the most positive impact in Vietnam and the portfolio overall. The retailer generated high revenue growth in its grocery segment in July, and we believe the company is likely to be the primary beneficiary of other retailers exiting the market as it continues to gain market share. Vietnamese banks Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank and Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank also performed strongly, both on solid second-quarter earnings. In Bahrain, not holding strongly performing Ahli United Bank had the most negative impact on the overall portfolio. Its merger with Kuwait Finance House (which is held in the portfolio) could yield strong cost synergies. An off-benchmark position in Sri Lankan consumer staples company Ceylon Cold Stores also held back relative returns, as both its manufacturing and retail operations have been adversely affected by coronavirus-related restrictions.
We slightly increased our overweight position in financials, adding to our off-benchmark holding in a leading universal bank in Georgia. The country is perceived as having dealt with the coronavirus extremely well, with numbers low in absolute terms and little sign of a second wave of cases emerging. The bank operates against a resilient domestic economic backdrop where the government provides support, and in our view, it stands to benefit from any uptick in tourism flows in 2020. In the medium term, efficiency gains may result from the digital push the bank has pursued as a result of the coronavirus.
Vietnam remains the portfolio’s largest country overweight. The country’s macroeconomic backdrop is supportive, in our view, with the economy currently forecast to avoid entering a recession this year. The government moved quickly to contain the spread of the coronavirus and indications are that the situation is mainly under control. We maintain our positions in high-quality Vietnamese companies for the time being.
