Kazakhstan and Georgia as new tiger countries –
The terrible and brutal terrorist attack in Moscow is likely to have consequences, although it is still not entirely clear who is behind the terrorist attack apart from IS, which has sent a letter of confession. Russia suspects that the American secret service, in co-operation with the Ukrainian secret service, is actually behind the attack. The perpetrators from Tajikistan at least wanted to flee to Ukraine and have also made confessions that point in this direction. Putin’s first response was to intensify attacks on the infrastructure in Ukraine.
So far, the global stock markets have reacted relatively calmly to the new risks of escalation in the Ukraine war. The indices on Wall Street and the DAX reached new all-time highs. Bitcoin and gold also remain in demand. The price of oil also continued to rise. But the stock markets in Eastern Europe also continue to provide much pleasure, especially the shares from Kazakhstan and Georgia as new growth regions. Georgia is now even a new candidate for EU membership and, like Ukraine, is being courted by the EU.
The KTX index for shares from Kazakhstan even closed up 16.7 per cent on 28 March, having already achieved a gain of 32 per cent last year. It thus clearly outperformed the DAX. Risk-averse investors can buy Kazakhstani shares directly online via the broker Freedom Finance (Freedom Broker) from Cyprus if they open an account there first, which is easy to do at the following link:
https://freedom24.com/invite_from/2952896 . Although Russian ADR or original shares are still not tradable due to the sanctions, new opportunities may now arise again with some Russian ADR/GDR, which you can now buy at discount prices on the OTC market via the brokers Zerich Securities Ltd or Freedom Finance from Cyprus. Interesting stocks on the OTC market are above all the Russian discounter Fix Price, which has now also gone public on the stock exchange in Kazakhstan, and the IT stocks VKontakte and Yandex (more on this in the stock market letter EAST STOCK TRENDS (www.eastststok.de). However, you also need to open an account beforehand, which is easy to do at this link: https://trade.mind-money.eu
Andreas Männicke also gives his assessment of the new opportunities in Eastern Europe in his stock market letter EAST STOCK TRENDS (www.eaststock.de) and in his new EastStockTV video, episode 228 at www.YouTube.com. Andreas Männicke will also be giving a presentation on “New opportunities in Eastern Europe, especially in Kazakhstan” at Freedom Broker’s stand 4C38 at “Invest” in Stuttgart on 26/27 April 2024.
Who is really behind the terrorist attack in Moscow?
The terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Moscow last Friday claimed over 140 lives. The brutal terrorist attack in Moscow still raises many questions, although there is a letter of confession from IS. The perpetrators came from Tajikistan and were partly flown in from Turkey, but wanted to flee to Ukraine after the terrorist attack. Nine men were arrested in Tajikistan who are believed to have assisted in the attack.
The Russian secret service FSB suspects that the American and Ukrainian secret services were actually behind the terrorist attack, also in order to provoke Putin. Nuland, the US envoy for Europe, who was responsible for Ukraine, had already hinted at the possibility of a terrorist attack in Moscow a few weeks earlier. The American secret service obviously also knew about this terrorist attack beforehand.
Putin’s first reaction was to intensify attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure. Putin no longer speaks of a special operation, but of a war against NATO on Ukrainian soil. The terrorist attack has increased the risk of further escalation, up to and including a third world war. It is time for more common sense to finally prevail and for the West to be prepared to enter into diplomatic negotiations before more and more people have to lose their lives senselessly on the front line.
World stock markets continue to boom despite increasing geopolitical risks
The world’s stock markets have so far been relatively unimpressed by the heightened geopolitical risks and have even risen to new all-time highs. The S&P Index rose to a new all-time high of 5224 index points and the DAX to a new all-time high of 18,492 index points, representing year-to-date gains of 10.79 per cent and 10.28 per cent respectively. AI shares in particular drove the indices up once again, although the use of AI in industry and also in the military sector is not uncontroversial and also harbours risks. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin continued to be in demand with a price of over USD 7,000, which is now on the verge of halving and has recently fallen again somewhat. Gold delighted investors with a new all-time high of USD 2233 per ounce. However, some commodities such as copper and oil also increased in price to USD 8886/tonne and USD 87/barrel respectively. As a result, some gold and oil shares were also in demand again.
Eastern Europe as a lucrative market for diversification
“Never put all your eggs in one basket” is an old investor rule, and not just at Easter. Investors should therefore also take advantage of the many diversification opportunities in Eastern Europe. At the end of March, 10 stock exchanges in Eastern Europe were once again among the 30 best-performing stock exchanges in the world. Above all, the small mini stock exchanges from South Eastern Europe such as Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania are now booming, which investors can cover with a SETX certificate or Balkan funds.
On average, GDP growth rates are much higher than in Western Europe and public debt is much lower, with banks from Eastern Europe benefiting in particular. In addition, dividend yields in Eastern Europe are much higher on average than in Western Europe.
New opportunities in Kazakhstan and Georgia
A good alternative to Russian shares, which are no longer tradable for Western investors due to the sanctions, are now shares from Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is also a very resource-rich country with high GDP growth rates of over 4 per cent, from which banks such as Halyk Bank or the fintech bank Kaspi.kz are benefiting in particular with high growth rates and low valuations, as is the Bank of Georgia in Georgia. Banks from Eastern Europe are performing particularly well at the moment.
Georgia grew by double-digit percentages in the two previous years and is now also an EU accession candidate that you should pay more attention to. The CECE Banking Index has already risen by 15 per cent since the beginning of the year. The KTX index for shares from Kazakhstan has also risen by 16.7 per cent since the beginning of the year and has clearly outperformed the DAX.
Investors who would like to trade directly online in Kazakhstan should open an account with the broker Freedom Finance (Freedom Broker) from Cyprus at the following link: https://freedom24.com/invite_from/2952896
However, investors can still buy Russian ADRs at discount prices in the OTC market via Freedom Broker. Similar opportunities are also available via the broker Zerich Securities Ltd from Cyprus, if you open an account via the following link: https://trade.mind-money.eu A list of tradable Russian ADR is published in the stock market letter EAST STOCK TRENDS (www.eaststock.de). Both brokers also offer participation in lucrative IPOs on Wall Street as well as high returns on overnight and fixed-term deposits.
Inform first, then invest
Find out more now about the background and development of the Ukraine/Russia crisis as well as the future recovery potential of undervalued shares from Eastern Europe. There are also new opportunities in the Baltic states, south-eastern Europe and the CIS republics (Kazakhstan, Georgia), with the respective share indices all up in 2023. In 2023, 12 stock exchanges from Eastern Europe were among the 30 best-performing stock markets in the world, with 5 clearly outperforming the DAX. In 2024, 10 stock exchanges from Eastern Europe outperformed again with a strong gain. It is therefore still worth looking beyond the horizon to Eastern Europe.
Order a trial subscription now (3 issues by e-mail for just €15) to the monthly stock market letter EAST STOCK TRENDS (EST) with another Ukraine/Kazakhstan/Russia special and a dividend special as well as lots of background information and new investment suggestions such as the “Share of the Month” and lucrative certificates at www.eaststock.de, under Stock Market Letter. The last EST was published on 27 March 2024.
Lecture note: Andreas Männicke will give a lecture on 26/27 April 2024 at the Freedom Broker stand 4C38 on the topic “New opportunities in Eastern Europe, especially in Kazakhstan”.
TV/radio notes: On 5 February 2024, Andreas Männicke was interviewed by Carola Ferstl on Money Talk about gold, commodities and the new opportunities in Eastern Europe. You can download all radio and TV interviews in the video archive at www.eaststock.de, including the last video in EastStockTV, episode 228. By the way: have you already subscribed to the EastStockTV YouTube channel?
If you are interested in new EastStock seminars “Go East” in Frankfurt/m or other cities, please contact the EST editorial team (www.eaststock.de )
You can also subscribe to Andreas Männicke’s free newsletter with the latest news on the world and eastern stock markets at www.eaststock.de .