Ezra Sun: The key issues for Asia in 2013

ASIA

Asian stock markets may see some volatility in the short term but investors should use it as a buying opportunity, advises Ezra Sun, manager of the Veritas Asian fund.

Asian ex Japan equity markets staged a robust rally in January before giving up most of their gains in late February and March, ending the quarter with a minor loss of 0.5%. The Shanghai composite index initially recovered by 7.3% before succumbing to profit-taking and ending the quarter down 1.5%. However, Australia and the smaller Asian markets, such as Thailand and the Philippines did well, up between 8% and 10% during the quarter in US dollar terms. The surprise for many investors is that Asia is not at record highs, given strong growth and decent earnings. There are two reasons f...