Five fintech and digital payment companies at the forefront of the financial innovation have been included in Bloomberg Intelligence’s new “100 Investment Ideas to Watch for 2021” (BI100) report. The list identifies 100 global public companies, credits, market strategies and ETFs that BI analysts believe will benefit from significant fundamental catalysts and developments in 2021.
The five companies are PayPal Holdings, China Merchants Bank, Intercontinental Exchange, Safaricom and Sea Ltd.
PayPal was pronounced the market leader by far, given its continuing dominance in the digital economy. The BI100 report highlights the acceleration of the use of digital wallets along with e-commerce and demand for contactless payments throughout the pandemic and indicates that the company could sustain a 20%- plus growth as it takes its secure online wallet into stores and adds bill pay, QR code payments and other financial services.
According to the report, persistent margin and asset-quality strength could pad China Merchants Bank’s edge vs. peers in Chinese fintech and help the nation’s leading retail- and private-banking franchise counter regulatory caps on property lending. The report notes that over 40% of China Merchants Bank’s applications run on a cloud-based platform, most among major Chinese banks.
As international markets and institutions are navigating the ongoing pandemic, as well as major political transitions across the globe, the BI100 aims to provide a globally inclusive portfolio and outlook for 2021 to both the business and investor community alike.
Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Analyst, Fintech and Payments, Julie Chariell said: “A surge in e-commerce, an acceleration in the shift to digital payments from cash due to the pandemic, and large-scale proliferation of smartphones are the key drivers of digital payments globally. These catalysts could lead to a 29% annual growth in digital wallets, based on our analysis.”
This year’s new BI100 report represents an expansion from BI’s traditional 50 ‘companies to watch’ annual list. The BI100 specifically analyzes how critical themes such as green recovery, smart healthcare, and digital transformation will be impacted by public health and policy changes. Bloomberg Intelligence’s team of over 350 analysts spent months evaluating and assessing over 2,000 public companies across 135 industries to devise the BI100.
Bloomberg Intelligence Global Director of Research David Dwyer said: “At a chaotic time when the Covid-19 pandemic is upending entire industries and causing extreme market volatility around the world, the BI100 provides investors with analysis of where key industries and financial products may be headed throughout the year. Using detailed yet accessible language, our analysts help investors at any level understand the current landscape of business. The list is supported by much more detailed analysis and data on the Bloomberg Terminal.”
Bloomberg Intelligence’s Chief Equity Strategist Gina Martin Adams adds: “As markets look to the fits and starts of the emerging economic recovery and additional stimulus from U.S. policymakers to drive the overall trend, the BI100 offers analysis focused on data and deep industry expertise to identify enduring opportunities for the year ahead. This report serves as a guide to actionable insights in a pivotal year that will change how and where people work, how individuals and companies will be taxed, and which industries will thrive in the post-pandemic economy.”
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