Investors look at some Asian countries as safe havens from Omicron

Investors have looked at some Asian countries as safe havens amidst the threat of the Omicron variant, despite diverging policies against the coronavirus. Many investors though remain positive about Asia’s ability to weather the pandemic as its best-performing nations kept deaths from the pandemic at lower levels than elsewhere. Wai Ho Leong, a strategist at Modular Asset Management, said Asia will be better braced to cope with Omicron waves, which may prove to be more short-lived than Delta. Wai added that markets that are better vaccinated and have timely social distancing curbs are also likely to recover faster from this wave. He identified Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Malaysia as potential winners, with India, Thailand, and the Philippines just starting to see surges. He added that consumer discretionary, autos, and banks are among the sectors to bet on.