Comparing the Performance of Germany and France ETFs

The iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund(EWG) is down over 8% year-to-date while iShares MSCI France Index Fund (EWQ) is down just over 3%. The German ETF is down since German stocks has been more negatively impacted due to the Ukraine crisis. Germany has more exposure to Russia than France.

Here is a quick comparsion of the two ETFs:

a) iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund (EWG):
Net Assets = $4.8 Billion
Number of Holdings = 55
Distribution Yield = 4.24%

b) iShares MSCI France Index Fund (EWQ):
Net Assets = $2.6 Billion
Number of Holdings = 74
Distribution Yield = 4.40%

However over the long-term the German ETF handily beat the French ETF. For example, over 5 years the German ETF was up by over 40%. But the French ETF was up by only 14%. Similarly over the 10 year period,  Germany shot up by 82% while France went up just 33%. So long-term investors may want to ignore short-term performance of German equities.

The 10-year performance of the two ETFs are shown below:

Click to enlarge

EWG vs EWQ

Source: Google Finance

Disclosure:No Positions

The Top 100 Non-Financial TNCs from Developing and Transition Economies Ranked by Foreign Assets

** New – For the latest version of this list go here: The World’s Top 100 Non-Financial TNCs Ranked by Foreign Assets 2015

The Top 100 Non-Financial TNCs from Developing and Transition Economies Ranked by Foreign Assets are listed in the below based on 2013 data:

S.no.CorporationHome economyIndustry cForeign Assets ( in millions of US$)Total Assets ( in millions of US$)
1Hutchison Whampoa LimitedHong Kong, ChinaDiversified85 721103 715
2CITIC GroupChinaDiversified78 602565 884
3Hon Hai Precision IndustriesTaiwan Province of ChinaElectrical & electronic equipment65 47170 448
4Petronas - Petroliam Nasional BhdMalaysiaPetroleum expl./ref./distr.49 072163 275
5Vale SABrazilMining & quarrying45 721131 478
6China Ocean Shipping (Group) CompanyChinaTransport and storage43 45256 126
7China National Offshore Oil CorpChinaPetroleum expl./ref./distr.34 276129 834
8América Móvil SAB de CVMexicoTelecommunications32 00875 697
9Lukoil OAORussian FederationPetroleum and natural gas31 17498 961
10Cemex S.A.B. de C.V.MexicoNon-metalic mineral products30 73036 808
11Petróleos de Venezuela SAVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofPetroleum expl./ref./distr.27 462218 424
12Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.Korea, Republic ofElectrical & electronic equipment26 077169 702
13Singapore Telecommunications LtdSingaporeTelecommunications25 76832 242
14Hyundai Motor CompanyKorea, Republic ofMotor vehicles25 443113 906
15Jardine Matheson Holdings LtdHong Kong, ChinaDiversified24 28463 460
16Sabic - Saudi Basic Industries Corp.Saudi ArabiaPetroleum expl./ref./distr.23 54090 089
17Gazprom JSCRussian FederationPetroleum and natural gas23 425396 454
18Wilmar International LimitedSingaporeFood, beverages and tobacco23 08841 920
19China Resources Power Holdings Company LtdHong Kong, ChinaEnergy22 93822 938
20Tata Motors LtdIndiaAutomobile21 57531 281
21Ooredoo QSCQatarTelecommunications20 30426 104
22Formosa Plastics GroupTaiwan Province of ChinaChemicals19 994101 998
23New World Development LtdHong Kong, ChinaDiversified19 85736 918
24China National Petroleum CorporationChinaPetroleum expl./ref./distr.19 284541 083
25CapitaLand LtdSingaporeConstruction and real estate18 92630 885
26Abu Dhabi National Energy Co PJSCUnited Arab EmiratesUtilities (Electricity, gas and water)18 19833 377
27Noble Group LtdHong Kong, ChinaWholesale trade17 74819 700
28Genting BhdMalaysiaOther consumer services17 71921 940
29Petroleo Brasileiro SABrazilPetroleum expl./ref./distr.16 927331 078
30Gerdau SABrazilMetal and metal products15 68426 072
31MTN Group LtdSouth AfricaTelecommunications15 26321 409
32Bharti Airtel LimitedIndiaTelecommunications15 15330 783
33Tata Steel LtdIndiaMetal and metal products14 99427 027
34CLP Holdings LtdHong Kong, ChinaUtilities (Electricity, gas and water)14 85529 513
35Sinochem GroupChinaPetroleum expl./ref./distr.14 70445 488
36Quanta Computer IncTaiwan Province of ChinaElectrical & electronic equipment14 49419 479
37POSCOKorea, Republic ofMetal and metal products13 99774 289
38China Resources Enterprises LtdHong Kong, ChinaFood and beverages13 42616 448
39Golden Agri-Resources LtdSingaporeFood13 28613 286
40First Pacific Company LtdHong Kong, ChinaElectrical & electronic equipment13 25613 880
41YTL Corporation BhdMalaysiaUtilities (Electricity, gas and water)13 01016 154
42Sun Hung Kai Properties LtdHong Kong, ChinaOther services12 61560 277
43Steinhoff International Holdings LtdSouth AfricaOther consumer goods12 45316 090
44Lenovo Group LtdChinaElectrical & electronic equipment11 96216 882
45Fomento Economico Mexicano SABMexicoFood, beverages and tobacco11 91922 752
46Shangri-La Asia LtdHong Kong, ChinaOther consumer services11 49611 920
47Hindalco Industries LtdIndiaDiversified11 32522 186
48Li & Fung LtdHong Kong, ChinaWholesale trade11 25412 015
49Gold Fields LtdSouth AfricaMetal and metal products10 93111 200
50Oil and Natural Gas Corp LtdIndiaPetroleum expl./ref./distr.10 93046 630
51SonatrachAlgeriaPetroleum and natural gas10 358103 584
52Etisalat - Emirates Telecom Corp.United Arab EmiratesTelecommunications9 83421 821
53Sasol LimitedSouth AfricaChemicals9 48624 638
54San Miguel CorpPhilippinesFood, beverages and tobacco9 43725 298
55ZainKuwaitTelecommunications9 41210 438
56Flextronics International LtdSingaporeElectrical & electronic equipment9 39510 592
57The Hong Kong & China Gas Company LimiteHong Kong, ChinaElectricity, gas and water9 24312 776
58Swire Pacific LtdHong Kong, ChinaBusiness services8 99641 567
59JBS SABrazilFood, beverages and tobacco8 80424 307
60Ternium SAArgentinaMetal and metal products8 41210 867
61China Mobile LimitedChinaTelecommunications8 349166 972
62Pou Chen CorpTaiwan Province of ChinaOther consumer goods7 8808 410
63Naspers LtdSouth AfricaOther consumer services7 7698 811
64Tata Consultancy ServicesIndiaOther services7 2479 616
65Wistron CorpTaiwan Province of ChinaOther equipments goods7 2249 389
66Grupo Bimbo SAB de CVMexicoFood, beverages and tobacco7 20910 491
67Orascom Construction Industries SAEEgyptConstruction7 14611 271
68China Electronics Corporation (CEC)ChinaElectronics7 78429 047
69DP World LimitedUnited Arab EmiratesTransport and storage6 87716 434
70Compal Electronics IncTaiwan Province of ChinaOther consumer goods6 79510 658
71Doosan CorpKorea, Republic ofConstruction6 65929 527
72Sime Darby BhdMalaysiaDiversified6 62815 068
73Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri ASTurkeyTelecommunications6 46110 428
74LG Electronics Inc.Korea, Republic ofElectrical & electronic equipment6 14829 482
75Olam International LtdSingaporeElectrical & electronic equipment6 03910 875
76Severstal Group HoldingsRussian FederationMetal and metal products5 95415 707
77Cofco Ltd.ChinaFood, beverages and tobacco5 95241 264
78Power Assets Holdings LimitedHong Kong, ChinaElectricity, gas and water5 75313 114
79Embraer - Empresa Bras De Aeronautica SABrazilAircraft5 7079 465
80Keppel Corp LtdSingaporeDiversified5 65223 842
81Galaxy Entertainment Group LtdHong Kong, ChinaOther consumer services5 6195 727
82Inventec Co LtdTaiwan Province of ChinaElectrical & electronic equipment5 4836 169
83Medi-Clinic Corp LtdSouth AfricaOther consumer services5 3436 154
84Mechel OAORussian FederationMetal and metal products5 18617 695
85Sinopec - China Petrochemical CorporationChinaPetroleum expl./ref./distr.5 030201 027
86Fraser and Neave LtdSingaporeFood, beverages and tobacco4 99511 975
87Shenzhen International Holdings LimitedHong Kong, ChinaConstruction4 9495 468
88Advanced Semiconductor Engineering IncTaiwan Province of ChinaElectrical & electronic equipment4 8968 494
89China Minmetals CorpChinaMetal and metal products4 88539 225
90Guangdong Investment LtdHong Kong, ChinaUtilities (Electricity, gas and water)4 5584 820
91City Developments LtdSingaporeOther consumer services4 55512 757
92Road King Infrastructure LtdHong Kong, ChinaTransport and storage4 3284 809
93Cheng Shin Rubber Industry CoTaiwan Province of ChinaChemicals4 3015 206
94Acer IncTaiwan Province of ChinaElectrical & electronic equipment4 2487 810
95Hynix Semiconductor IncKorea, Republic ofElectrical & electronic equipment4 01117 478
96Suzlon Energy LtdIndiaDiversified3 9905 337
97Netcare LtdSouth AfricaOther consumer services3 8925 325
98Sappi LtdSouth AfricaWood and paper products3 8666 168
99Enka Insaat ve Sanayi ASTurkeyConstruction and real estate3 8048 209
100China Railway Construction Corporation LtdChinaConstruction3 76176 282

Source: UNCTAD

Chinese firms located in mainland China and Hong Kong dominate this list.Many oil and utility firms are in this ranking since they have usually have major overseas operations.Lukoil OAO (LUKOY) of Russia, Sinopec – China Petrochemical Corporation (SNP) of China have big presence in other countries as well. South Africa’s MTN Group Ltd is a major player in the telecom space in many African countries.As these firms represent large multinationals from each of the country listed investors can consider these companies when exploring options for investments in emerging and frontier markets.

Download: The Top 100 Non-Financial TNCs from Developing and Transition Economies Ranked by Foreign Assets Full List (in Excel format).

Disclosure: Long PBR

The Top 20 Economies for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) publishes the voluminous World Investment Report each year discussing the status of global trade and related data. One of the charts in this year’s report is the following showing the top countries that attract Foreign Direct Investment:

Click to enlarge

Top 20 Economies for FDI

Source: World Investment Report 2014, UNCTAD

Contrary to popular belief, the U.S. remains the world’s top destination for FDI inflows. According to the report, FDI inflows into the U.S. rose by 17% last year due to the economic recovery. China took the second place in attracting foreign investments. Russia was the third largest recipient of FDI primarily due to intra-company loans and BP’s acquisition of 18.5% of  Rosneft as part of Rosneft’s $57 billion acquisition of TNK-BP.

Among the emerging countries, FDI flows to China is significantly higher than to Brazil, Russia, India, etc underscoring the continuing importance of China as the world’s factory floor.

How American Is Your Beer?

A few years ago I wrote an article on the world’s beer market share. The top five global beer makers in 2010 were AB InBev NV (BUD), SABMiller PLC (SBMRY), Heineken N.V. (HINKY), Carlsberg (CABGY) and China-based China Resources Enterprise(CRHKY). 

The U.S. is the world’s largest beer market. However most of the American beer market is dominated by foreign-owned companies as shown in an article in the Journal back in July:

Click to enlarge

American Beer Market Share 2014

Source: InBev Buys Brewery Where Budweiser Name Began, The Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2014 and WSJ The Numbers

Two of the popular brands in the U.S. are Budweiser  and Bud Light owned by AB InBev NV (BUD). But they cannot compete quality-wise compared to imported beers or other craft brewers made by smaller brewers. For example, Canadian beer such as Labatt Blue is much stronger and taste better than Budweiser  and Bud Light. The buds are usually cheaper than other beers and hence taste accordingly…..

Disclosure: No Positions

Asia’s Fabulous 50 Companies For 2014

Forbes Asia has published its annual list of Asia’s Feb 50 firms for this year. The companies in this list are selected from publicly-traded companies. Here is the selection criteria from the Forbes article:

The Fab 50 is chosen from a pool of 1,300 companies in the region that have at least $3 billion in market cap or annual revenue. Since only public companies are considered, hot privately held outfits such as Alibaba Group and Huawei Technologies are out. We screen for a long series of performance measures, analyze the outlook for each company and throw out any that carry a lot of debt or are more than 50% state-owned. Companies that are more than 50% owned by listed parents are also culled. The result is the region’s best of the best.

The Top 10 Firms by Market Capitalization are shown in the graph below:

Click to enlarge

Asia-s-Fab-50-Top-10-By-Market-Value-Market-Value-2014

Source: 2014 Fab 50: Asia’s Tech Takes Over The World, Forbes Asia

 

The following table shows the complete list of Asia’s Feb 50 for 2014:

S.No.CompanyCountryMarket Value ($B)Sales ($B)Industry
1Advanced Semiconductor EngineeringTaiwan9.87.4Semiconductors
2Asian PaintsIndia9.82.1Industrial Specialties
3Avago TechnologiesSingapore192.5Semiconductors
4Axis BankIndia15.36.4Regional Banks
5Ayala CorporationPhilippines9.73.2Financial Conglomerates
6BaiduChina76.85.2Internet Software/Services
7China Gas HoldingsHong Kong9.43.4Gas Distributors
8China Hongqiao GroupChina4.84.8Aluminum
9China Zhengtong Auto ServicesHong Kong1.24.9Specialty Stores
10Chow Tai Fook JewelleryHong Kong14.510Other Consumer Specialties
11CJ CheiljedangSouth Korea4.69.9Food: Major Diversified
12CP AllThailand12.98.9Food Retail
13CWTSingapore0.87.3Trucking
14Dongbu InsuranceSouth Korea4.29Property/Casualty Insurance
15ENN Energy HoldingsHong Kong83.7Gas Distributors
16Galaxy EntertainmentHong Kong32.88.5Casinos/Gaming
17Great Wall MotorChina14.48.9Motor Vehicles
18Gree Electric AppliancesChina14.519.4Electronics/Appliances
19HCL TechnologiesIndia17.55.4Information Technology Services
20HDFC Bank LimitedIndia338.4Regional Banks
21Hyundai GlovisSouth Korea11.211.8Air Freight/Couriers
22Hyundai Marine & FireSouth Korea2.79.4Property/Casualty Insurance
23IHH HealthcareMalaysia12.62.1Hospital/Nursing Management
24Indorama VenturesThailand47.5Chemicals: Specialty
25LenovoChina15.738.7Computer Processing Hardware
26Lotte ChemicalSouth Korea5.615Chemicals: Specialty
27LupinIndia8.91.9Pharmaceuticals: Generic
28Mahindra & MahindraIndia13.411.1Motor Vehicles
29Melco Crown Entertainment LimitedHong Kong16.15.1Casinos/Gaming
30Motherson Sumi SystemsIndia5.15Auto Parts: OEM
31NaverSouth Korea25.72.1Internet Software/Services
32New Hope LiuheChina4.211.3Agricultural Commodities/Milling
33Origin EnergyAustralia14.515Electric Utilities
34Sumber Alfaria TrijayaIndonesia1.63.4Food Retail
35Qingdao HaierChina814Electronics/Appliances
36Ramsay Health CareAustralia9.34.2Hospital/Nursing Management
37SapuraKencana PetroleumMalaysia7.82.6Oilfield Services/Equipment
38Sun Pharma IndustriesIndia27.82.7Pharmaceuticals: Major
39Suntory Beverage & FoodJapan1211.5Beverages: Non-Alcoholic
40Suzhou Gold Mantis Construction DecorationChina4.62.9Engineering & Construction
41Tasly Pharmaceutical GroupChina6.71.8Pharmaceuticals: Major
42Tata Consultancy ServicesIndia80.113.5Information Technology Services
43Tata MotorsIndia25.138.2Motor Vehicles
44Tech MahindraIndia8.53.1Information Technology Services
45Tencent HoldingsChina155.69.8Internet Software/Services
46TitanIndia5.11.8Other Consumer Specialties
47UnicharmJapan13.96Household/Personal Care
48Zhejiang Chint ElectricsChina4.21.9Electrical Products
49Zhengzhou Yutong BusChina3.93.6Motor Vehicles
50Zhongsheng Group HoldingsChina2.78.5Specialty Stores

 

Some observations on this list:

  • China dominates the list with 15 firms followed by India with 12.
  • China’s Tencent Holdings (TCEHY) is the topper in terms of market capitalization with almost double the market cap of next topper Tata Consultancy Services of India.
  • Overall this ranking is dominated by tech firms underscoring the growing power of Asian tech firms in the global marketplace.
  • India’s second largest private-sector bank HDFC bank, (HDB) has appeared eight times in this list since Forbes started compiling it in 2005.

Disclosure: No Positions