Die chinesischen Aktienmärkte erholten sich zum Monatsende Februar, nachdem Maßnahmen zur Eindämmung des Coronavirus zu einem Rückgang der Fallzahlen in China geführt hatten. Auf dem Hintergrund dieser Marktereignisse generierte der China-Fonds eine positive Performance von +0,4 Prozent. Jing Ning, FondsManagerin des Fidelity China Focus Fund A Acc EUR (WKN A0M94A, ISIN LU0318931192), analysiert in ihrem aktuellen Marktbericht für Februar die Portfoliostruktur des auf günstig bewertete Unternehmen aus dem “Reich der Mitte” fokussierten FondsProduktes. In ihren Managersichten erhalten SJB Investoren alle wichtigen Informationen über den in der FondsStrategie SJB Substanz enthaltenen Fidelity-Aktienfonds.
Market Environment
Chinese equities started the month on a subdued note as the spread of COVID-19 cases outside China raised fears of a global contagion and led to concerns over its potential impact on economic activity. Nonetheless, Chinese equities recovered towards the end of the month as the number of new cases declined following substantial measures implemented by the government to curtail the contagion. The People’s Bank of China announced several policy measures, including lowering the seven-day reverse repo rate, one-year loan prime rate and reverse repo operations to inject 1.2 trillion yuan (US$174 billion) into markets; all aimed at ensuring ample liquidity in the financial system. Policymakers undertook measures to support small and medium enterprises and accelerated infrastructure investments. Expectations that the government will provide further stimulus measures to mitigate the economic impact of the outbreak also buoyed investors. Meanwhile, China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for February tumbled to 35.7, the lowest on record as the COVID-19 outbreak paralysed many factories in the Hubei province and beyond. A majority of the sectors ended the month in positive territory, with health care and materials stocks leading gains. Conversely, the energy and utilities sectors were among the key laggards.
Fund Performance
The fund generated positive returns but underperformed the index in February. Resource companies CNOOC and PetroChina detracted from performance as oil prices trended downwards amid speculation about a global economic downturn. State-owned telecommunications operator China Mobile fell as poor customer traffic to their physical stores amid the COVID-19 outbreak led to slower fifth-generation (5G) subscriber acquisitions. Outbreak-led demand concerns weighed on Lenovo, even as the largest personal computers (PC) manufacturer delivered superior financial results, supported by record margins in the PC segment. An underweight allocation to Alibaba Group weighed on relative returns due to an uptrend in its shares. On a positive note, cement producer Anhui Conch Cement advanced owing to its attractive valuations following a selloff in January. Expectations of stimulus-driven infrastructure activity also prompted investor interest. China Construction Bank, which continued to offer an attractive dividend yields, also contributed to returns during the month. Real estate holdings in high-quality state-owned property developer China Resources Land and China Overseas Land and Investment added value, as a liquidity infusion lifted sentiment towards the sector.
Fund Positioning
The manager has a value and contrarian style that is reflected in the fund’s positioning. Her bottom-up approach focuses on determining the intrinsic value of a company rather than pursuing themes. As an aggregate of the manager’s security selection process, the fund remains notably overweight in the financials, energy and materials sectors. Among key overweight holdings, China Life Insurance is a beneficiary of long-term structural growth in the Chinese insurance industry. Its management is focussed on enhancing its product mix and improving agent productivity. Exploration and production company CNOOC’s strong balance sheet and low-cost profile will help it to weather a challenging environment. The manager retained the exposure to state-owned property developers China Overseas Land and Investment and China Resources Land as they are beneficiaries of low financing costs and have a healthy balance sheet.
