ASEAN Speaks

While year-to-date SET is down almost 5%, Chak Reungsinpinya, Head of Equity Research Thailand, Maybank Investment Banking Group, maintains year-end index target of 1,600 – a 17% upside from the index current level. He shares his note of confidence.

Despite interventions, the JPY remains under pressure against the US dollar. What more can be done to strengthen the JPY and what’s the impact of a weak JPY on regional currencies? Saktiandi Supaat, Head of FX Strategy, Maybank, explains why recent interventions haven’t worked their magic and what’s on the road ahead for the JPY.

With accelerated industrial production growth and at the same time, a fizzling of consumer spending, what lies ahead for the Asian dragon? As well, will introducing new property measures lift the sector? Erica Tay, economist at Maybank IBG, explains.

Maybank Securities’ analyst Hussaini Saifee says the merger could be a potential catalyst for growth for the telco sector in Singapore. He also gives his read on the earnings results from SEA and Grab.

Chua Hak Bin, Regional Co-Head for Macro, Maybank Investment Banking Group, discusses how the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone will spur growth for both Johor and Singapore in areas such as connectivity, trade, labour, investments, and renewable energy transition.

Anand Pathmakanthan, Head of Regional Equity Research, Maybank Investment Banking Group, rounds up ASEAN equities’ performance over the past four months, giving a forecast on the key markets and stocks to watch, going deeper into 2024.

The Fed left rates unchanged as widely expected, with chair Powell saying they need more confidence that the economy is on track and to meet the 2% inflation target. Suhaimi Ilias, Maybank Group Chief Economist, shares his takeaway from last week’s FOMC meeting.

Thilan Wickramasinghe, Head of Research, Maybank Securities, maps the themes, identifies the sectors, and picks the stocks that may be the biggest winners from the establishment of this highly-anticipated economic project.

Erica Tay, economist at Maybank Investment Banking Group assesses the impact of China's industrial push on ASEAN exports at a time when ASEAN is seeing increased FDI and post-pandemic export recovery.

Even as EV growth is forecasted for a slowdown in 2024 with weak Q1 2024 sales reported by leading EV companies, plus news that Apple has just put its EV project to the ground, there is still room for robust EV growth for investors in ASEAN, says Jigar Shah, Head, Sustainability Research, Maybank Investment Banking Group.