Asia Centric by Bloomberg Intelligence

The world's population is likely to peak in the next 60 years and nowhere is this trend felt more than Asia, with countries such as South Korea and Japan registering some of the lowest birth rates and oldest populations.

Wei Li, Global Chief Investment Strategist at BlackRock, discusses the role demographics plays in investing and why it may be the most important megatrend. She joins John Lee of Bloomberg Intelligence and Katia Dmitrieva of Bloomberg News on the Asia Centric podcast.

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Central banks got the green light to begin easing policy last week after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by more than expected. Officials across Asia have perhaps been the most eager to move lower, but in this new era, each country faces a different path forward for monetary policy.

John Lee from Bloomberg Intelligence and Katia Dmitrieva from Bloomberg News speak with Alicia Garcia-Herrero, Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis SA, about what the Fed cut means for the region.

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AI has been hailed as a transformative technology with McKinsey estimating it could add $26 trillion to the global economy. While many investors have already jumped on the AI bandwagon, not everyone agrees.

Daron Acemoglu, Institute Professor at MIT and author of books including Why Nations Fail, takes a critical look at AI and explains why the economic and social benefits may have been overstated. He joins John Lee of Bloomberg Intelligence and Katia Dmitrieva of Bloomberg News on the Asia Centric podcast.

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Shareholder activism is gaining traction in Japan, with the number of new campaigns surging by 70% in the first half of 2024. At the same time, homegrown activist funds are becoming more prominent in Japan’s corporate circles.

Shuhei Furukawa, managing director and portfolio manager at Misaki Capital, and James Han, managing partner at Prodigies Group, join John Lee of Bloomberg Intelligence to discuss this growing trend and how it differs to what’s happening in the US.

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India's economy is the darling of emerging markets, with a burgeoning middle class, a rising population and rapid growth set to outperform all large peers this year. But recent data suggest cracks are forming, with less government spending and a slowdown in factory output.

Miguel Chanco, chief emerging Asia economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics and a long-time critic of India's growth story, joins hosts John Lee of Bloomberg Intelligence and Katia Dmitrieva of Bloomberg News to explain why he believes investors are underestimating the slowdown to come.

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Hong Kong's wealth management is booming as rich mainland Chinese investors pour in funds. The city’s offshore wealth-under-management industry now amounts to more than $2.2 trillion, the second largest in the world, and is approaching Switzerland's level. What's driving these rich Chinese to invest overseas, and how will China's economic slump impact future flows?

Lemuel Lee, Head of Wealth Management Hong Kong at BNP Paribas, and Sharnie Wong, Senior Financials Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, discuss these issues with host John Lee on the Asia Centric podcast.

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A rate hike from the Bank of Japan combined with weak US economic data coalesced to cause the biggest one-day sell off in stocks since 1987. What does this mean for monetary policy in Japan and the US? And how could investors position themselves for the uncertainty ahead?

Gareth Nicholson, Chief Investment Officer and Head of Managed Investments at Nomura International Wealth Management, joins co-hosts John Lee and Katia Dmitrieva on the Asia Centric podcast. 

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Uranium prices have skyrocketed as demand surges for nuclear power globally and traders fret about a potential shortage. China is Asia’s biggest user of nuclear energy, while countries such as Australia are still debating whether to embrace it. Investors have been piling into mining companies and uranium ETFs, but is this the best way to capitalize on the demand? And what are the risks to the seemingly bright outlook?

Asia Centric hosts John Lee and Katia Dmitrieva discuss these issues with Mohsen Crofts, senior metals and mining analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, and Leonard Quong, head of Australia research at BloombergNEF.

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We're about halfway through the year and China's economy is still struggling to regain momentum after the housing bubble burst and consumers pulled back. A major policy meeting in China that wrapped last week did little to assuage concerns, with officials focused more on the long term. The US presidential election could have big implications for trade and tariffs.

Andrew Tilton, chief economist for the APAC region at Goldman Sachs, joins host Katia Dmitrieva for a check-in on the world's second-largest economy.

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Global investors are piling into Japan, betting the economy has finally broken out of its economic stagnation. How will the return of inflation transform the country’s economy and is it sustainable? Can Japan's efforts to improve its corporate governance meet high investor expectations? And what are the key industries investors should watch out for?

Taro Kimura, Senior Japan Economist and former Bank of Japan veteran, and Takeshi Kitaura, Senior Industrials Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, join John Lee on the Asia Centric podcast.

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