Mandatory Provident Fund scheme members each earned an average of HK$11,085 in January, while the GUM MPF Composite Index rose by 3.4 percent and closed at 296.2 points, according to GUM, Hong Kong’s MPF and Employee Benefits (EB) consulting firm.
Major indices all recorded positive returns last month, with equity funds achieving an overall return of 4.8 percent. By region, Asian equity funds performed best with a return of 8.7 percent, followed by Greater China and Hong Kong equity funds, which recorded returns of 7.4 percent and 6.9 percent respectively. US equity funds performed the weakest, with a return of merely one percent.
Mixed asset funds saw a return of 3.5 percent in January, increasing to 297.5 points. Return on fixed income funds edged up 0.3 percent to 133.2 points, with Hong Kong dollar bond funds recording a negative return of 0.3 percent.
Ongoing AI development continues to drive demand for memory chips and semiconductors, sustaining strong growth momentum in the AI supply chain across China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea, the consultancy noted.
Coupled with market expectations of a weaker US dollar, this has attracted capital inflows into Asia, GUM added.
GUM believes global equities remain in an uptrend, but non-US dollar assets are more attractive.
The consultancy is the most optimistic about the Asian market, followed by the European region, but the latter is easily affected by changes in the relationship between Europe and the US, such as the recent dispute over Greenland.
