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To: Alex who wrote (31952)	4/16/1999 11:07:00 PM
From: hunchback	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 116768

IMF GOLD SALES TO FACE INTENSE CONGRESSIONAL SCRUTINY -- Extensive Review of IMF Finances Underway -- house.gov

To: Alex who wrote (31952)	4/17/1999 8:52:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116768

Asia bounces back Seven of the top 10 S'pore-registered funds in the first quarter invested in Asia, according to a performance survey. WONG WEI KONG reports QUITY fund managers won big in what many would consider unlikely markets in the first quarter this year, with an Indian fund topping the performance charts, followed by a pair of Japan and Singapore funds. And more Asian funds have clawed their way back into the rankings, displacing US and European funds despite the hype over Wall Street's record-breaking streak and the birth of the euro. Seven of the 10 best-performing funds in the first quarter invested in Asia, according to a performance survey of Singapore-registered funds by Standard & Poor's Micropal. Only six out of 98 funds surveyed lost money for their investors, reflecting generally buoyant conditions in most key markets. "Obviously, the US market already had a fantastic run, and Europe as well, while the Asian markets were very depressed. Value investors realised that at some stage, Asia would pick up again. And the follow-through was provided by the first signs that the regional economies were picking up," said Peter Hames, director of Aberdeen Asset Management Asia. The quarter's best performing fund was the Nicholas-Applegate Regional India Fund with an absolute return of 56 per cent, followed by the Aberdeen Singapore Growth Fund with 31 per cent and the UOB Japan Growth Fund with 28.4 per cent. Aberdeen's Singapore Equity Fund ranked fourth with 28.3 per cent with the Citi Japan Fund in fifth place with 19 per cent. "The Indian market enjoyed a very strong run in the first quarter on the back of a market friendly budget. The fund's holdings such as software company Infoys Technologies, drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories, cigarette maker ITC Ltd and soap maker Hindustan Lever benefited from the market rally," said Kim Teo, managing director of Nicholas-Applegate Capital Management. The firm will soon be renamed CMG First State Investments following its acquisition by Australia's Colonial Group. Japan, written off by many as recently as the start of the year, surprised with sharp rallies that helped pull other Asian markets higher. "Japan has done extremely well in the last quarter," said Teo Pek Swan, fund manager of the Schroder Pan Asia Fund which ranked ninth on the performance charts. "We went quite aggressively into Japan in January and February. The government was taking steps to restructure the banking sector and the big corporates were starting to restructure. And Japan has under-performed for so long that we thought the downside risk was probably less than in other markets." The three non-Asian funds which made it to the top 10 were the global technology funds run by Henderson Investors and UOB Asset Management and Nicholas-Applegate's Global 100 Growth Fund. Explaining the strong showing by the technology sector, Mae Leong, who manages the UOB Global Technology Fund, said: "It's all summarised in one word -- growth. The leading US technology companies have been very consistent. This gave confidence to investors who were willing to pay a premium for these stocks." The continuing trend of mergers and acquisitions in the US and Europe, meanwhile, helped drive the performance of Nicholas-Applegate's Global 100 Growth Fund, which invests in the world's best 100 companies, said Mr Teo. The showing by Asian funds in the first quarter was not uniformly strong, however. At the bottom of the rankings were the Thai funds run by Templeton and Aberdeen, and the only Indonesian and Malaysian dedicated funds registered in Singapore, both managed by Aberdeen. "Ahead of the elections, you wouldn't expect a great deal from the Indonesian market," explained Aberdeen's Mr Hames. "In Malaysia, capital controls made it very difficult for overseas fund managers. There is also a cloud over politics and it's difficult to see foreign money coming back into the country." And while the government in Thailand has been trying to adopt the right policies, "we don't find the level of corporate restructuring to be as quick as it should be", he said. Looking ahead, fund managers said Asian funds still have much to offer investors who are prepared to take the long view. "I don't think you are going to get the huge gains seen in the last quarter of last year. However, we still feel the medium-term outlook is positive. It will depend on the earnings we will see but earnings revisions are more likely to be up than down," said Schroder's Ms Teo. "Short term, regional markets have had a good run and may take a breather. But over two to three years, Asian markets will do well relative to the rest of the world. We are only in the early stages of economic recovery," Mr Hames added. As for individual markets, he said Singapore remains a solid bet while Indonesia, with stocks so cheap, is a high risk-and-reward proposition. The outlook for Japan is more mixed. "What we need to see is more restructuring and a real pick-up in the economy," Mr Hames said. Ms Teo said: "We're not saying everything is doing well but we still like Japan because it has under-performed for so long." business-times.asia1.com.sg