How new political regimes are helping Asia's frontier markets

The impact of new political regimes

Michael Levy, investment manager, EMEA and global frontier markets equity team at Barings, looks at companies set to outperform on the back of new and more focused political regimes.

While the performance of emerging markets over the past few years has been weak, frontier markets have been relatively more robust, particularly in Asia. This is not to say they have become impermeable to volatility: frontier market equities have come under pressure recently due to the plunging oil price - particularly in oil exporting markets such as Nigeria and Kazakhstan. But in recent months, a strengthening political background in many frontier markets has become a key indicator of the continuing rise of the asset class into the investment mainstream. In Asia, an example of the d...