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SINGAPORE — Corporate earnings across Asia are expected to recover strongly in 2021 as countries in the region have generally done a better job containing Covid-19 than their counterparts in the West, according to Japanese bank Nomura.
The bank has forecast a 21% jump in earnings-per-share next year for the MSCI Asia excluding Japan Index. That will underpin a 9% returns — including dividends — for the index by end-2021, Nomura analysts said in a Wednesday report.
Most of the returns would come in the first half of next year, and some markets will perform better than others based on several factors, the analysts said. Nomura has an "overweight" stance on three Asian markets.
"We think in 2021, vaccine availability, procurement, funding and immunization execution strategies will be some of the key differentiating factors behind equity market moves in Asia," they added.
