Photo: Antti Leppänen
Russia has a chance to improve its trade balance with China through coal exports, as Beijing is seeking to diversify its supplies. Last year, the People’s Republic already increased coal imports from Russia, Mongolia and Indonesia, while Australia remained the largest supplier.
China’s coal imports from Russia may increase, says South China Morning Post attributing this to Beijing’s attempts to diversify its coal supply away from Australia amid ongoing tensions with Canberra. For its part, Russia is aiming to supply more coal to its biggest trading partner, which is the world’s largest energy consumer. Since May 2020, Russia’s trade balance with China has turned from a surplus to a deficit, says Emerging Markets Economist at Capital Economics Liam Peach, explaining it by a fall in exports of oil and gas and an increase in imports of electrical machinery and equipment. According to Peach, energy exports to China made up around 15% of R
Outlook 2021: Experts differ on appeal of US, EM equities
As the world recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, equity markets are expected to follow suit, although investors are divided on which markets to focus.
While investors generally agree that 2021 will be a positive year for equities, their opinions diverge on which geographies to focus – except for a consensus regarding China.
A Natixis survey released on December 8 found that 32% of institutional investors were looking to decrease allocations to US equities. Instead, they are looking to shift their focus to European and emerging markets (EM), as well as Asia Pacific stocks.
They might have good reason. Southeast Asian stocks have risen drastically after a steep fall in March. For example, the MSCI Asean Index rose 14%, nearly double the MSCI Asia Pacific Index over eight days in November, according to Bloomberg.