Tencent and TSMC Dumped by Fund Manager Jonathan Pines

(Bloomberg) — A $3.2 billion fund focused on Asian equities is avoiding the region’s two biggest stocks, saying their valuations fail to reflect economic and political challenges.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is priced as if it’s a secular business rather than a cyclical one, while valuations of Tencent Holdings Ltd. would have to be “extraordinary” to be attractive as it’s at the forefront of U.S.-China tensions, according to Jonathan Pines, who manages the Federated Hermes Asia Ex-Japan Equity Fund.