“Brilliance China Automotive manufactures and sells automobiles for the Chinese market, predominantly through its joint venture with German luxury car maker BMW. It reported strong volume and profit growth over the first half of its financial year, supported by generally robust demand. We expect the rise of China’s upper middle class to continue driving the luxury car market in the country, and we are optimistic about the company’s ability to capture that growth through new vehicle launches. 

Ping An Insurance Group is a China-based personal financial service provider with three core businesses-insurance, banking and investment. It is one of the largest life, property and casualty (coverage against loss of property, damage or other liabilities) insurers in China by premiums. The company’s full-year net profit beat market expectations, supported by strength in its life and health insurance business. We expect further growth from the company’s core insurance operations as, well as their financial technology businesses. 

Yandex is a technology company. Its core product is its search engine. In its home market, Russia, it has more than 50% of all search traffic. It also owns the leading online taxi services provider in the country, as well as e-commerce and classified advertising businesses. Yandex reported double-digit revenue growth in 2017, largely driven by strength in its core search and taxi operations. The merger between Yandex.Taxi and Uber Russia provided investors with additional good news. We expect to see continued growth in Yandex’s search engine and taxi businesses. Further, the online advertising market should continue to take market share from traditional media outlets, benefitting the company.”

“Astra International is an Indonesia-based conglomerate with businesses in the automotive, financial services, heavy equipment, infrastructure, IT and property industries. Its largest business, the automotive division, distributes motorcycles, cars and trucks under brands such as Honda and Toyota. It also provides after-sales services and auto components. Astra’s full-year net profit missed market expectations as car sales weakened in the face of increased competition. Nevertheless, we remain positive about long-term automotive demand in Indonesia as the economy continues to grow. 

IMAX is an entertainment technology company specialising in motion-picture technologies. It designs and manufactures premium theatre systems and has installed these systems around the world, of which a substantial number are in emerging markets. Weaker-than-expected box office results weighed on IMAX and it embarked on a cost-cutting exercise. However, we expect demand for premium cinematic experiences to grow in emerging markets and the company, we believe, is well-positioned to increase its market share. We are also positive about its share buy back programme. 

Banco Santander Mexico is one of the leading financial groups in its home market. It offers a wide range of services, including retail and commercial banking. Mexican equities generally underperformed their emerging markets peers over the year on concerns surrounding the ongoing NAFTA renegotiation and the 2018 presidential election. Disappointing earnings over the last two quarters of 2017 further pressured returns from the stock. However, we believe that the company is well positioned to benefit from the growth in the banking sector, where penetration currently remains low.”