Technology trends such as cloud, artificial intelligence and 5G are all accelerating with the shift to working from home.
There is strong momentum from gaming companies and social networks, with increasing user engagement, and an even bigger shift away from bricks and mortar to e-commerce businesses due to widespread lockdowns.
EM traded as high as three times book value before the global financial crisis and since then has traded as high as two times book value. In the first quarter of 2009 EM traded as low as book value for a short period.
At current 1.1 times book value EM is in value territory, but given the severity of negative data ahead and the early stages of coronavirus spread in some EM markets, we expect volatility to continue.
Joanne Irvine is deputy head of global emerging markets at Aberdeen Standard Investments
