Korea and Taiwan dominate AI hardware while Japan, China and ASEAN capture infrastructure-driven gains, creating a decade-long regional growth story beyond US mega-caps.
Equities
From China and South Korea to Indonesia and the Philippines, EM Asia is poised for a multi-year re-rating as healthier debt levels, governance reforms and local capital cut reliance on foreign investment flows.
In this new edition of our quick fire Q&A, AsianInvestor catches up with Angel Chia, executive director at Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy.
With GDP growth forecast at 6.5-7%, India is emerging as a durable growth story for 2026—though trade tensions and valuations remain key risks to watch.
Political turmoil in late 2024 created a valuation floor. A year later, Korea became one of the world's best-performing markets as investors began believing corporate reforms might actually work.
China-US tensions continue to shape global market narratives, yet allocator behaviour shows geopolitics remains secondary in capital decisions.
The investment story is pivoting from troubled property to green tech, advanced manufacturing, and AI—where global capital sees structural growth despite macro risks.
From AI-driven capex and service digitalisation to a weaker US dollar and stronger domestic markets, investors see emerging Asia, selective European value, and high‑quality franchises as the main winners in a fragmented global equity landscape.
Investors are moving beyond broad benchmarks into sector, factor and active ETFs, while issuers and exchanges race to meet demand with feeder structures, synthetic products and advanced trading workflows.
AI investment themes for 2026 may centre on infrastructure enablers, upstream semiconductors, and strong Asian players, with regulatory and capital expenditure concentration as key risks.
As China pivots from a property-driven model, institutional capital is chasing high-growth opportunities in AI and the energy transition, fuelling demand for onshore A-share listings, and redefining the strategic role of Hong Kong in facilitating global allocations.
The country's JPY100 trillion ETF market is moving beyond its narrow, passive foundations, driven by shifting investor behaviour and regulatory change.
