South Africa outlook is good as valuations rise

South Africa is poised to attract more investor interest as the depressed economy appears to have troughed and valuations are becoming more attractive. Any progress in the market will depend on the recent events in Zimbabwe not spilling southwards. The MSCI South African index was down 21.5% in dollar terms from 1 January to 8 May. This underperformed the broader MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which was down by 8.3% over the same period. Richard Rothwell, emerging markets fund manager at Deutsche Asset Management, agrees the depressed economy may have troughed. Mortgage loans have bottome...