Baron Emerging Markets Strategy

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM), known as TSMC, is the world's largest independent semiconductor foundry, manufacturing chips on behalf of other companies.
TSMC is the dominant force in leading-edge semiconductor foundry manufacturing, as it benefits from economies of scale and a superior cost structure. The company's successful track record of deploying new technology faster than competitors helps it maintain market share and pricing power. We believe TSMC’s investments in advanced nodes will strengthen its market leadership and support long-term profitability.

Tencent Holdings Limited (700.HK) is a leading internet services provider and the top game developer in China. Tencent's primary platforms include QQ for instant messaging and WeChat for mobile messaging, social media, and mobile payments.
We are bullish on Tencent's ability to grow earnings per share at low-double-digit rates over the long term and to meaningfully enter new markets like e-commerce by leveraging its massive distribution. Tencent benefits from virtuous network effects, and we think it has a long runway to monetize its large user base by pushing value-added services and advertising through its platforms. As Tencent's core domestic gaming business returns to growth, we believe the expansion of generative AI can drive greater engagement and improved monetization.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (005930.KS) is a Korean technology conglomerate known for its leadership in consumer electronics and semiconductor manufacturing.
Samsung is the bellwether for global technology innovation and continues to deliver robust earnings across memory, logic, display, and smartphones. We are confident Samsung can maintain its technology leadership for years to come, given its strong research and development track record and ability to meet ever-changing global consumer demand.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) is the largest e-commerce company in the world. Alibaba owns and operates the two largest online shopping platforms in China, Taobao and Tmall, and owns a 33% stake in Ant Financial, the country's dominant payment platform.
With over 1 billion annual active buyers and over 10 million merchants, we believe Alibaba benefits from the increased penetration of internet, mobile, and e-commerce in China. Alibaba is the largest player in e-commerce in China, and we expect it to continue to be a dominant force in the country for years to come, though we acknowledge substantial low-priced competition. We also see positive optionality in Alibaba's AI efforts, as the company is among China's leaders in frontier model development and enterprise cloud services.

SK hynix Inc. (000660.KS) is a South Korean semiconductor manufacturer and a leading global supplier of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and NAND flash memory, used across data centers, AI accelerators, PCs, smartphones, and other electronic devices.
Memory demand is structurally growing as devices become increasingly computationally intensive. We believe SK hynix will remain a key beneficiary of rising adoption of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), which leverages advanced packaging to vertically stack DRAM chips, delivering higher bandwidth, improved power efficiency, and a smaller form factor. SK hynix has emerged as the industry leader in cutting-edge HBM, and we expect the company to generate strong earnings growth over the next several years, with significant upside from incremental long-term AI-driven demand.

Bharti Airtel Limited (BHARTI.IN) is a leading telecommunications company, with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa. The company's offerings include wireless, mobile commerce, and fixed line. 
Bharti Airtel is a top-three player in the Indian telecommunications industry. With more than 30% market share, it is well positioned to benefit from rising smartphone penetration and 4G services in India. The company should continue to gain market share from Vodafone India, which is on the brink of bankruptcy and will likely need to raise mobile tariffs by more than 50% to remain a viable entity. We expect earnings to generate mid-teens growth over the next three to five years, with further upside from its broadband and enterprise businesses.

Credicorp Ltd. (BAP) is Peru’s leading financial group, with a presence across select Latin American markets. The company offers services including banking, insurance, corporate finance, brokerage, asset management, and pension fund management.
Through its diversified subsidiaries, Credicorp is positioned to benefit from Peru’s long-term financial deepening, offering exposure to a broad range of financial services. The company’s principal subsidiary, Banco de Crédito del Perú, is the country’s largest bank by assets, loans, and deposits. Incorporated in Bermuda and listed on both the Lima Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, Credicorp offers investors exposure to Peru’s leading financial franchise. We believe this positioning supports a compelling long-term opportunity.

Bajaj Finance Limited (BAF.IN) is a leading non-banking financial corporation in India. It offers various financial products and services including housing loans, consumer durables financing, small- and medium-sized enterprise credit, and rural loans.  
We believe Bajaj is well positioned to benefit from growing demand for consumer financial services in India. The company's data analytics platform is a key competitive advantage that enables it to earn high risk-adjusted returns (return on equities can sustain 20% to 22%, in our view). Bajaj is quickly becoming India's largest fintech player by creating an ecosystem of apps offering insurance, brokerage, and wealth management, among many other new products and services. We expect Bajaj to grow earnings by roughly 25% over the next five years.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co., Ltd. (009540.KS), a sub-holding company of HD Hyundai, oversees key affiliates like HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's largest shipbuilder by order book size and a leader in high-end vessels including liquified natural gas (LNG)-powered ships.
Korean shipbuilders have an oligopoly in LNG carrier shipbuilding, LNG dual-fueled containerships, and tankers. The tightening regulation on carbon emission, which will be fully adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) by 2030, should drive higher demand for LNG dual-fueled ships as well as carbon-free ammonia-fueled ships. We expect a structural shortage of compliant ships to emerge as the IMO deadline nears, which should benefit Korea Shipbuilding given its leading position.

Delta Electronics, Inc. (2308.TT) is a leading global provider of power and thermal management solutions. The company is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan.
With decades of experience, significant scale advantages, and technological leadership, Delta provides superior power supply efficiency, shorter product design cycles, and better cost structure relative to competitors. We expect AI data center buildouts to accelerate Delta’s top-line growth to a mid-teens compound annual growth rate over the next three to five years, while driving margin expansion through a favorable product mix shift and operating leverage.