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CYB
Investors may look back at the liquidity crisis of 2008 as the inflection point that affirmed China as a global economic superpower.
During this time, the majority of emerging market currencies suffered as investors fled higher-risk currencies. However, the
Chinese yuan largely tracked the safe haven flight to the U.S. dollar, and investments providing exposure to movement in the
yuan generated a positive return and exhibited low volatility during the most volatile market environment in recent history.
Chinese Yuan Forwards vs. S&P 500 Index (October 1, 2007–September 30, 2009)
20
10
0
7 8 8 8 8 9 9 9
-10 /0 /0 /0 /0 /0 /0 /0 /0
/30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30
12 3/ 6/ 9/ 12
/ 3/ 6/ 9/
-20
-30
-40
-50 JPMorgan ELMI+ Chinese Yuan Subindex
Cumulative Total Return on S&P 500
-60
Strictly regulated by Chinese authorities, the Chinese yuan is managed to trade in a tight range relative to a basket of currencies,
including the U.S. dollar. Because the Chinese government has emphasized stability in the currency, changes in the yuan’s value
relative to the dollar have tended to be implemented in a slow and deliberate fashion. Since the currency was allowed to float
from its peg to the dollar in 2005, the pace of appreciation relative to the dollar had been relatively consistent until last summer,
when a closer relationship to the dollar emerged.
Several factors, however, could cause the yuan to further appreciate relative to the dollar in the coming years:
+ Long-term growth potential relative to the developed-market countries, particularly the U.S.
+ Increasing role as a global economic leader
+ Attempts to diversify away from the dollar
+ Relative undervaluation given China’s economic development
Each of these factors points to the likelihood of the eventual liberalization of China’s foreign exchange regime, and the potential
for meaningful appreciation in the yuan relative to the U.S. dollar.
+ Long-term growth potential—Fostered by fiscal stimulus, industrial production and economic growth, China remained
resilient during the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, while developed market economies suffered. Economic statistics suggest
continuing momentum within the Chinese economy:
10%
5%
0%
96
98
00
02
04
06
08
10
12
14
19
19
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
-5%
-10%
2000000
1500000
1000000
$515 Billion (14.5%)
500000
0
9/00 9/01 9/02 9/03 9/04 9/05 9/06 9/07 9/08 9/09
+ Increasing role as a global economic leader—China has become a leading advocate of a global reserve currency and reduced
dependency on the U.S. dollar. Regionally, China is playing an increasing role in the Pacific Rim, facilitating agreements with
Korea and Japan to provide foreign exchange liquidity to Korea during the crisis. With international reserves exceeding
$2 trillion, China will likely play a role in any major global capital market or economic development.
*Real GDP is gross domestic product in constant dollars. It is a nation’s total output of goods and services, adjusted for price changes.
CYB: WisdomTree Dreyfus Chinese Yuan Fund
+ Attempts to diversify away from the dollar—In 2009, China initiated a pilot program with Hong Kong companies to settle
trades in yuan and has since pursued similar arrangements with Brazil, Russia and Korea. Trade settlement will facilitate cross-
border transactions and increase pressure to liberalize the currency. Additionally, the government is looking to issue its first
yuan-denominated government bond to Hong Kong investors. China’s enormous consumption of commodities increases
its sensitivity to the value of the U.S. dollar, since commodities are typically priced in dollars. The currency weakness of
commodity-producing nations during the crisis created opportunities for China to make direct investments into commodity
producers and secure long-term sources of supply outside the U.S. dollar.
+ Gradual transition to a domestic-driven economy—As China makes the transition from an export-driven to a domestic-
demand-driven economy, we believe sensitivity to yuan appreciation will eventually subside and actually become a positive
as the country imports more goods. Additionally, the younger generations in China consume at a much higher rate than the
older generations, or many of their peers across Asia, suggesting that a sizable drop in the current savings rate could occur
in future years.
+ Relative undervaluation given its economic development—The currencies of emerging market countries are often valued
at a discount to their long-term purchasing power, given uncertainties related to investing or conducting business in an
emerging nation. However, as China becomes more fully integrated into the global economy, this discount could begin to
dissipate and the value of its currency could eventually converge with its long-term purchasing power. This is even more
likely given the widely held view that the appreciation of China’s currency has been restrained in order to foster its exports.
According to recent estimates of purchasing-power parity from the World Bank, the Chinese yuan would need to rise 76% to
achieve parity levels.
Valuation Relative to Purchasing-Power Parity (Using exchange rates as of September 30, 2009)
Discount/Premium of Current
67%
65%
100
Exchange Rate to PPP
58%
80
35%
33%
30%
25%
60
12%
12%
40
7%
20 0%
0
-20
-4%
-15%
-18%
-24%
-23%
-40
-30%
-29%
-27%
-33%
-32%
-37%
-37%
-36%
-35%
-41%
-40%
-40%
-43%
-60
-47%
-47%
-46%
-50%
-80
India -66%
-100
Thailand
Argentina
Peru
Taiwan
China
Indonesia
Mexico
Chile
Saudi Arabia
Russia
Colombia
South Africa
Korea
Poland
Hong Kong
Romania
Turkey
Hungary
Singapore
Czech Republic
Brazil
Israel
United States
UK
New Zealand
Canada
Europe
Japan
Sweden
Australia
Norway
Switzerland
Denmark
Source: Bloomberg, World Bank, WisdomTree 2009
The purchasing-power-parity rate (PPP) between two countries is the rate at which the currency of one country needs to be converted into that of a second
country to ensure that a given amount of the first country’s currency will purchase the same volume of goods and services in the second country as it does
in the first. In the WEO online database, it is expressed as local currency per U.S. dollar. The discount or premium to PPP is the ratio of the current spot
(expressed in dollars per foreign unit of currency) relative to PPP (expressed in dollars per unit of foreign currency).
Downside Risks
Political unrest and the failure of monetary authorities to prudently remove excess liquidity pose the principal risks to the underlying
value of the Chinese yuan. A significant decline in asset values from current levels could also expose a bad-debt problem created
by the recent surge in lending. We believe the current level of the yuan relative to its long-term potential provides downside risk
protection, and the sizable reserve base offers the government sufficient ammunition to defend the currency if needed.
Your Exposure to the Chinese Yuan
For the first time, investors can gain exposure to the Chinese yuan in an ETF. CYB, the WisdomTree Dreyfus Chinese Yuan
Fund, seeks to achieve total returns reflective of money market rates in China available to foreign investors as well as changes in
value of the Chinese yuan relative to the U.S. dollar. Since direct currency investments into China are not available to foreigners,
the ETF combines U.S. cash investments in a one-to-one ratio with forward contracts to provide the desired exposure to the
Chinese yuan. The ETF largely restricts its investment in U.S. money markets to government securities and repurchase agreements
collateralized by government securities. Daily trading volume in the yuan/dollar foreign exchange instruments offshore exceeds
$3 billion in notional value. (Source: HSBC Guide to Emerging Market Currencies 2008.) Although this Fund invests in very short-
term, investment-grade instruments, the Fund is not a “money market” fund, and it is not the objective of the Fund to maintain
a constant share price.
Expense Ratio: 0.45%
CYB may be appropriate for investors seeking:
+ A low correlating/alternative asset class for diversification
+ Access to the potential of China without equity risk
+ An inexpensive,* flexible tool for investing cash around the world without size, time or margin constraints
Learn more
about CYB and the entire family of
currency income ETFs at www.wisdomtree.com