No need to fear for the Fragile Five

While it may look like emerging markets are being tormented by global investors, there could be a happy ending.

What's in a name?  Well, the moniker “Fragile Five” suggests all is not rosy but the countries (Brazil, Turkey, India, Indonesia, and South Africa) labelled thus have things other than name calling to worry about.  Namely, the fact that it appears as though the Fragile Five are being picked on by the international financial system.  The leader of the pack has been the Federal Reserve whose trimming back of its stimulus package has triggered a massive shift in global finances.  While no country would choose to be browbeaten by investors, a lecture on bad economic policy might help these countries avoid a story of more woe in the future.

What is going wrong?

Emerging markets have fallen victim to the fleeting nature of foreign investors.  The global financial system has been awash with money due to central banks such as the Federal Reserve printing cash to stimulate Western economies.  Low financial returns in developed countries have prompted investors to look abroad for places to park their money.  Perkier economic growth in developing economies has been an oasis for investment as options elsewhere dried up.

Emerging markets are typically in need of extra cash.  There are little savings available to fund the investments needed to build homes, roads, and factories as the economy develops.  These cash-starved countries are a good fit with cash-rich investors but there is a need to get the balance right.  Unfortunately, many emerging economies come to overly depend on the cash provided by investors to fund their economic growth.  As is the case with things offered up on the cheap, the good times don’t always last and investors always have the option of taking their money elsewhere.

Along with slumping stock markets, the effects of emerging markets falling out of favour with investors are most keenly felt through a drop in currencies in emerging markets.  A weaker currency results in emerging markets having to pay more for their imports, which exacerbates the problem of high spending on overseas goods such as oil.  Higher prices for imports also push up inflation which is already too high in many emerging markets.  Many of these countries also struggle with large government budget deficits as slower economic growth prompts greater fiscal spending.

How things are being put right

While the Federal Reserve has been measured in its approach to changing policy, central banks in the Fragile Five have been all action.  The central bank in Turkey lifted its overnight lending rate for banks from 7.75% to 12% while their counterparts in other countries also increased their rates by smaller amounts.  The higher interest rates are designed to make it more attractive to hold the currency of that country as part of an attempt to stem the selling on the foreign exchange markets.  An increase in the costs of borrowing also has the effect of cooling the economy and reducing the demand for imports.

It is lucky for the Fragile Five that the most important actions have already been taken to prepare them for the ebb and flow of global capital.  Emerging economies have learnt from the Asian financial crisis in 1997 when many economies in Southeast Asia were decimated due to high levels of foreign debt and a system of fixed exchange rates.  The adoption of floating exchange rates along with large foreign currency reserves means that another crisis is unlikely.  Inflows of foreign funds are treated with less welcoming arms and greater acceptance of the need for controls over the movement of money in and out of economies with less developed financial systems (for more info, see beware of a flood of funds).

Your Neighbourhood Economist would even argue that there are some positives.  The global financial crisis and the Eurozone crisis have shown what can happen when imbalances in an economy get out of hand.  Investors can be a fickle bunch (many people are where money is concerned) but investor sentiment is typically a good gauge of how well an economy is operating.  If subprime mortgages or lending in southern Europe had also led to a revolt in the market, most of us would be better off (see bond investors ain’t all bad for more on this).  With this in mind, perhaps foreign investors should not be seen as bullies, but more like an older brother (who may not always be nice) keeping you out of trouble.