Tom Lydon reports on some of the economic challenges facing Indonesia:
Indonesia exchange traded funds have been among the worst performers in the emerging market category as both external and internal factors weigh on the economy, and some observers believe it could get worse next year.
The iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF (NYSEArca: EIDO) has declined 25.5% this year and Market Vectors Indonesia Index ETF (NYSEArca: IDX) is down 24.7% year-to-date.
Within Indonesia, flip-flopping public policies, corruption charges, widening disparity between the rich and poor, and surging inflation are pressuring the economy, writes Arno Maierbrugger for Investvine.
Moreover, the government implemented a protectionist policy, requiring foreign investors to reduce their stakes in mining operations within 10 years and capping foreign exposure in financial institutions.
The country’s growing current account deficit, depreciating currency and high external debt have also weighed on the market. The rupiah currency depreciated 20% since the start of 2013 and touched a 5-year low against the U.S. dollar as capital flight from Asia gained momentum on speculation of an end to easy money.
The depreciating rupiah has exacerbated losses in Indonesia investments, along with rupiah-denominated securities in the Indonesia ETFs. Foreign-currency denominated securities take a hit if their currency depreciates since the investment would be worth less when converted in to U.S. dollars.
We have also seen a large drop in exposure to Indonesia in the PowerShares DWA Emerging Markets Momentum ETF (PIE). Indonesian exposure is shown below:
PIE, which is rebalanced quarterly, went from over 15% exposure to Indonesia in Q3 2013 to 0.95% exposure in Q4 2013 and now has 0% exposure in Q1 2014.
Meanwhile, overweights for PIE are now South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Turkey, and the Philippines.
Source: PowerShares and MSCI, as of 1/1/14
A list of all holdings for the trailing 12 months is available upon request. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. See www.powershares.com for more information.
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