Tuesday, 13 May 2014 11:24
Japanese market "very, very cheap" says Polar's Salter
James Salter, director of Japanese Equities at Polar Capital, says that the Japanese market is currently "very, very cheap."
He was speaking today at the 2014 Morningstar Investment Conference in London to 400 attendees. The conference is supported by the Institute of Financial Planning.
He said Japanese Prime Minister Abe had pumped an "enormous" amount of money into the Japanese economy in the past few years.
Mr Salter, who has been covering Japan for 25 years, says that Mr Abe wants to be known as the person who finally led Japan out of deflation and he was having some success.
He said: "The market is very, very cheap and trades on 12 times earnings but there are a slot of structural issues to tackle.
He added: Foreign investors have been big buyers of the market."
He said the Japanese economy at the moment was robust but would weaken temporarily in the current quarter due to a VAT rise.
Despite this he said he believed Japan was a place to consider investing as stock market valuations were very attractive. Many
He forecast 2.5 to 3 % growth for the Japanese economy over the next few years.
{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}
Many issues remained, however, as Japan dealt with the legacy of 20 years of deflation and sluggish growth.
"The question is how do we clear out the clogged arteries (of the Japanese economy."
He said he could not say for sure whether Abe-conomics would work and deflation could re-emerge but every effort was being made to avoid this.
He said further QE in Japan would continue to push the Yen down.
He said his style for Japanese investing was to focus on value "Warren-Buffet-style" because Japanese corporate valuations were so attractive.
In world market terms, he forecast: "Japan stands out as needing to play catch up."
The two day Morningstar Investment Conference 2014 is taking place at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in London.
He was speaking today at the 2014 Morningstar Investment Conference in London to 400 attendees. The conference is supported by the Institute of Financial Planning.
He said Japanese Prime Minister Abe had pumped an "enormous" amount of money into the Japanese economy in the past few years.
Mr Salter, who has been covering Japan for 25 years, says that Mr Abe wants to be known as the person who finally led Japan out of deflation and he was having some success.
He said: "The market is very, very cheap and trades on 12 times earnings but there are a slot of structural issues to tackle.
He added: Foreign investors have been big buyers of the market."
He said the Japanese economy at the moment was robust but would weaken temporarily in the current quarter due to a VAT rise.
Despite this he said he believed Japan was a place to consider investing as stock market valuations were very attractive. Many
He forecast 2.5 to 3 % growth for the Japanese economy over the next few years.
{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}
Many issues remained, however, as Japan dealt with the legacy of 20 years of deflation and sluggish growth.
"The question is how do we clear out the clogged arteries (of the Japanese economy."
He said he could not say for sure whether Abe-conomics would work and deflation could re-emerge but every effort was being made to avoid this.
He said further QE in Japan would continue to push the Yen down.
He said his style for Japanese investing was to focus on value "Warren-Buffet-style" because Japanese corporate valuations were so attractive.
In world market terms, he forecast: "Japan stands out as needing to play catch up."
The two day Morningstar Investment Conference 2014 is taking place at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in London.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.