Mensajepor Million70 » Mar Feb 13, 2018 9:47 am
Argentina: Plenty Of Catalysts Ahead
Feb. 12, 2018 12:58 PM ET|1 comment| About: Global X MSCI Argentina ETF (ARGT)
Renaissance Research
Renaissance Research
Long/short equity, banks
MARKETPLACEBanking On Financials
Summary
Since President Mauricio Macri took office, ARGT has been a stellar performer.
The economy of Argentina is going through a major transformation, and the market expects a solid improvement in the country’s GDP, a better fiscal outlook and a decline in inflation.
Credit penetration in Argentina remains one of the lowest in the world.
The MSCI’s reclassification could be an additional catalyst for ARGT.
This idea was discussed in more depth with members of my private investing community, Banking On Financials.
Since President Mauricio Macri took office in December 2015, the Global X MSCI Argentina ETF (ARGT) has been a stellar performer.
Source: Bloomberg
That should come as no surprise, given that the Macri administration has done an excellent job of improving numerous disbalances of the Argentinian economy, which were left by the previous president, Cristina Kirchner. Macri’s reforms are now starting to bear fruit and, as a result, his coalition scored a victory in the 2017 legislative elections. After the elections, President Macri pledged a new series of reforms to the country’s tax, labor and retirement systems.
Indeed, the country’s economy is going through a major transformation, and that also attracted foreign investors. For instance, last year, Argentina issued $2.75B worth of century bonds, with an effective yield of just 8%. Notably, the sale was almost 4 times oversubscribed as the government received $9.75B in orders for the bond. As such, despite the fact that Argentina has defaulted on its sovereign debt eight times since it declared independence in 1816, the century bond sale indicates that there is strong demand for Argentinian assets.
Even though Argentina is still fighting inflation and unemployment, the market consensus expects a solid improvement in the country’s GDP, a better fiscal position and a decline in inflation. The current account deficit is expected to stabilize and that would be also a positive.
Source: Bloomberg
Unique banking sector
We have written on Argentinian banks, in particular on Banco Macro (BMA) Grupo Galicia (GGAL) and BBVA Banco Frances (BFR), a lot, and, in our view, these banks remain one of the most attractive opportunities in the global banking space.
First off, as shown below, credit penetration in Argentina, measured as total banking loans against GDP, remains the lowest in Latin America and one of the lowest globally. For comparison, Brazil has a loans/GDP ratio of around 55%, while Chile has recently increased its credit penetration to nearly 90%. It is also worth noting that mortgage penetration, measured as mortgage loans against GDP, is just 1% in Argentina and more than 10% in Brazil.
Source: Banco Macro Investor presentation
As a result, in contrast to other banking markets in Latin America, Argentina is most likely to deliver several years of ample loan growth.
Second, the country’s banking sector is characterized by a high share of deposits, which are considered to be a stable and cheap funding source. By contrast, Brazilian and Mexican banks are heavily reliant on wholesale funding, which could be very costly and volatile.
Source: Credit Suisse Research & Analytics
From ‘Frontier Market’ status to ‘Emerging Market’ status
In June 2017, MSCI (MSCI) decided to delay its reclassification of Argentina's shares from the Frontier Market status to the Emerging Market status. With that being said, there is a high chance that the country will be promoted in 2018. According to JPMorgan Research, should that happen, Argentina's stocks would attract around $1.5B of passive inflows from MSCI EM-tracking funds. That level of flows should definitely put upward pressure on Argentina’s stocks. Additionally, the reclassification would attract active investors and funds that use the MSCI Emerging Market Index as a benchmark. We believe that could be a huge catalyst for ARGT.
Valuation
The ARGT's valuation remains reasonable, especially given that the ETF offers higher-than-average EPS growth rates.
Forward P/E ratios
Source: Bloomberg
Bottom line
Without a doubt, ARGT is not a safe-haven investment, especially given its historical performance. However, Global X MSCI Argentina ETF is a very attractive bet for long-term investors who can take on higher-than-average volatility.
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