MERS is the latest viral disease scare in the world. Although the focus of containment was in South Korea, the good connectivity of the world enhances the spread of virus to other countries. Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, said that it would be a matter of time that MERS virus would arrive in Singapore.
Singapore has a bad memory about SARS and most of us fear a repeat of that episode if MERS was to spread.
I received an email about a comment made by a research firm about what stocks to avoid if MERS becomes an epidemic. The study was referenced to Hong Kong, mentioning that Hang Seng Index (HSI) fell 7.8% from the end of Feb 2003 to April 25, 2003. It warned that investors should avoid airlines and hotels stocks, which had declined badly during SARS. On the flip side, investors were suggested to invest in stocks such as ......