Podcast · Business

Asia Centric by Bloomberg Intelligence

Some of the world's largest and fastest-growing markets, economies and companies are in Asia. Every Thursday, John Lee from Bloomberg Intelligence speaks with experts and newsmakers about the big ideas and trends moving money across the region.

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 21 min
Latest: 14 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

14 Oct 2026 · 23 minNew

The Contrarian Edge in Pan-Asian Equities

In a region where hot themes such as the AI trade dominate the headlines and investors rapidly rotate through markets, playing the contrarian can offer a distinct edge. Steering clear of the hype is uncovering unique opportunities – from South Korean preferred stocks to high-yielding defensive companies in Hong Kong and beaten-down Indonesian equities – according to Daniel Rupp, CIO and founder of Parkway Capital. Rupp joins John Lee on the Asia Centric podcast to unpack his value-oriented, fundamental approach to pan-Asian equities. He also shares his experience of leaving a…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

7 Oct 2026 · 20 min
Inside Quantedge's 49% Surge and 20-Year Run
Surviving the cutthroat world of hedge funds is notoriously difficult, with firms facing an average lifespan of just five years. Yet Singapore-based systematic quantitative fund Quantedge has defied those odds, recently celebrating its 20th anniversary and growing its assets under management from less than $3 million to $7.6 billion. Boasting an annualized return of 20.8% over two decades and a massive 49% gain year to date, the firm stands apart from multi-manager "pod shops" that prioritize stable, low-volatility returns. Suhaimi Zainul-Abidin, CEO of Quantedge, joins John Lee on the Asia…
30 Sep 2026 · 16 min
Goldman Pushes Back on ‘Short-AI’ India Narrative
While global equities have surged on the AI boom, India's stock markets have languished. With concerns that the nation's large IT services sector is vulnerable to automation and job losses, critics have increasingly labeled India an "anti-AI" or "short-AI" trade. Santanu Sengupta, chief India economist at Goldman Sachs, joins John Lee on the Asia Centric podcast to challenge this bearish narrative. He explains why robust hiring at smaller tech firms and global capability centers is offsetting traditional software job losses. Sengupta also breaks down the drivers behind India's resilient…
23 Sep 2026 · 15 min
Private Wealth Boom Defies China's Capital Curbs
Asia's private wealth industry continues to flourish. A Bloomberg Intelligence survey of 100 senior private bankers reveals widespread optimism for double-digit net new money growth, supported by mainland investors seeking diversification and emerging wealth from Southeast Asia and the Middle East. This comes despite new regulatory headwinds from Beijing, including tighter capital outflows and taxes on offshore trusts and insurance policies, which most surveyed expected will have only a mild impact on flows. Sharnie Wong, senior analyst covering Asia-Pacific diversified financials, and Sarah…
16 Sep 2026 · 33 min
Why Investors Are Mispricing China in a G2 World
The global economy is structurally shifting from G7 dominance toward a G2 dynamic led by the US and China, yet international investors continue to shun Chinese risk assets. Even as China dominates global manufacturing output and expands its trade surplus toward $1.2 trillion, global capital remains heavily allocated toward developed markets. Are markets mispricing China's role in this new order? Bin Gao, CEO and co-CIO of Kaifeng Investment Management Hong Kong, joins John Lee on the Asia Centric podcast to unpack the G2 shift. Gao draws parallels to Japan's 1970s export boom, presenting a…
9 Sep 2026 · 29 min
Japan's Activism Boom Shifts to Small Caps
Shareholder activism is surging in Japan, with 120 campaigns launched in the first half of the year, making the country the second most active market globally after the US. With a record number of companies going private and M&A takeover battles on the rise, activist investors are increasingly becoming kingmakers in securing maximum value for minority shareholders. Jamie Halse, chief investment officer at Senjin Capital, joins Bloomberg Intelligence's John Lee on the Asia Centric podcast. He explains that while much of the headlines have focused on Japan's corporate giants like Toyota and…
2 Sep 2026 · 21 min
Cheap North Asian Currencies Reach Turning Point
North Asian currencies – including the Japanese yen, South Korean won, Taiwan dollar and Chinese yuan – are trading at some of their deepest discounts on record, dropping up to 56% below purchasing power parity. These depressed valuations persist despite strong macro fundamentals, backed by massive foreign exchange reserves and their status as top global creditors. However, this valuation gap is beginning to snap back as booming domestic economies, rising retail sales, and increasing inflation prompt central banks in the region to hike interest rates. What will this shifting…
26 Aug 2026 · 21 min
Europe Needs €14 Trillion to Catch US, China
After decades of lagging behind the US and China in economic growth and innovation, Europe faces a stark reality: the era of cheap Russian energy, low-cost Chinese goods and US-backed security is over. Achieving strategic self-sufficiency will cost an estimated €14 trillion through 2035, according to Bloomberg Intelligence, requiring massive capital deployment across defense, energy, technology and agriculture. Traditional industrial mainstays are also under threat, with Chinese EV makers rapidly capturing market share and endangering an auto sector that employs nearly 14 million…
19 Aug 2026 · 26 min
China's AI Firms Locked in Race to the Bottom
While US tech giants such as Anthropic and OpenAI are monetizing at an unprecedented scale, Chinese developers are struggling to turn their technical progress into revenue growth. Despite narrowing the performance gap with US frontier models to just 5%, they face a domestic market flooded with nearly 1,000 competing large language models. This massive oversupply has triggered a brutal price war, with API tokens trading at roughly an 80% discount compared with US rates. Can Chinese AI companies ever generate significant returns for investors, and what are the implications for US frontier…
12 Aug 2026 · 27 min
Navigating US Treasury Selloff and Yen Intervention
Global fixed income markets are facing fresh turbulence as 30-year US Treasury yields spike to 5.2% – their highest level since before the global financial crisis – amid policy uncertainty under Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh. At the same time, FX markets are on high alert following coordinated intervention by US and Japanese authorities to support the yen after it breached 162. With rate volatility climbing while corporate fundamentals remain largely intact, how can credit investors find value amid tight spreads and negative net debt issuance across Asia? Monica Hsiao, founder and…
5 Aug 2026 · 31 min
Can CXMT and Kimi K3 Break the Memory Supercycle?
Memory chips have been the standout trade of the AI boom, but July brought a sharp reality check. Global semiconductor stocks whipsawed as investors began questioning the return on hundreds of billions in data-center spending. Market jitters deepened after Chinese startup Moonshot released its open-source Kimi K3 model at a fraction of the cost of US frontier AI architectures. Compounding these concerns is the rise of CXMT, China’s leading DRAM supplier, whose stock surged fivefold following a blockbuster IPO – raising fears of aggressive capacity expansion that could disrupt…
29 Jul 2026 · 22 min
Rise of the $300 Billion Prediction Market
Prediction markets are rapidly emerging as one of the fastest-growing asset classes in global finance. Driven by market leaders such as Kalshi and Polymarket, annual trading volume on real-world outcomes — from political elections to major sporting events — is projected to surge to $300 billion this year, with the potential to reach $1 trillion by 2030. But a high-stakes regulatory battle is looming: state gambling regulators argue these sports-heavy contracts constitute illegal gambling, while operators insist they are federally regulated derivatives under the purview of the…
22 Jul 2026 · 18 min
Peak Hormuz and the New Oil Order
The disruption in the Strait of Hormuz upended global energy markets, but the feared catastrophic oil shock never materialized. Prior to the Middle East conflict, about 20 million barrels of oil and products flowed through the maritime chokepoint every day. Due to regional bypass pipelines, strategic reserve releases and voluntary demand reductions from China, the global system absorbed the impact. Now, major producers and exposed Asian consumers are doubling down on long-term diversification to secure their supply chains. Salih Yilmaz, senior equity research analyst covering energy, oil and…
15 Jul 2026 · 16 min
China's Shoppers Still Buy Luxury, But Selectively
Chinese consumer sentiment isn't collapsing across the board, but retail sales growth is projected to hit a four-year low. While big-ticket categories like home appliances and autos crumble under subsidy fatigue, highly resilient segments are holding ground, particularly cosmetics, luxury, and premium sportswear. In e-commerce, Alibaba and rival giants are locked in a margin-crushing battle over agentic AI to capture shrinking wallets. Catherine Lim, APAC head of Bloomberg Intelligence and senior consumer and technology analyst, joins John Lee to unpack her latest retail survey. Catherine…
8 Jul 2026 · 17 min
How AI and Energy Security Fuel a New Supercycle
A massive convergence of artificial intelligence, energy and security is sparking what is likely to be the largest and longest energy investment cycle in history, according to Morgan Stanley. Driven by the demands of AI data centers and a strategic shift from "just-in-time" cost efficiency to "just-in-case" resilience, more than $5 trillion in new-energy investments is projected for Asia over the next five years. Mayank Maheshwari, equity analyst at Morgan Stanley, joins John Lee on the Asia Centric podcast to break down this monumental shift. They discuss the rewiring of regional supply…
1 Jul 2026 · 21 min
Why Global Capital Is Pouring Into Japan Stocks
What's driving Japan's historic bull market? And why are global investors finally returning to Tokyo after years on the sidelines? According to Goldman Sachs, it’s a rare convergence of factors including the global AI trade, inflation, corporate governance reform and an evolving macroeconomic landscape. The firm also believes a regime shift is underway in the market, moving focus away from the high-growth, asset-light sectors such as software that dominated the past decade. Instead, they highlight a transition into "HALO" stocks: heavy assets, low obsolescence. These capital-intensive…
24 Jun 2026 · 37 min
How Leverage ETFs Are Shaking Up Asian Markets
The rise of single-stock ETFs, especially CSOP's 2x leveraged SK Hynix ETF listed in Hong Kong, is reshaping market dynamics. The daily rebalancing of these massive funds is contributing to higher volatility in equity markets, creating new challenges for investors. At the same time, high concentration risk and narrow market leadership are fundamentally changing how investors think about hedging. In this special episode, featuring an excerpt recorded at the Singapore Volatility Forum on June 3, Oliver Chan, portfolio manager at Capula Investment Management; Stephane Martin, APAC head of…
17 Jun 2026 · 21 min
China’s Rise as the World’s First Electrostate
China is rewriting the global energy playbook, rapidly transforming into a clean energy powerhouse and emerging as the world's first "electrostate". While the Iran war has rattled global commodity markets, Beijing has successfully absorbed the shock due to a decade-long pivot toward domestic renewable energy. Now, it's positioning itself to reap economic rewards by exporting its green infrastructure to the rest of the world. Jian Chang, Chief China Economist, and Dave Dai, APAC Head of Sustainable Investing Research, both from Barclays, join John Lee on the Asia Centric podcast. Together…
10 Jun 2026 · 31 min
Is China's Property Market Finally Recovering?
China's property market is showing signs of life after a five-year slump, prompting some analysts to call for a long-awaited rebound. Price declines for newly built homes are narrowing, while transaction volumes are finally ticking up, particularly in top-tier cities. But is this a significant turnaround or just a dead cat bounce? Leonid Mironov, a fund manager at Gavekal Capital, joins host John Lee on the Asia Centric podcast. He breaks down why he believes the real estate sector is bottoming out rather than roaring back and explains why markets might be too bearish on China's consumption…
3 Jun 2026 · 24 min
AI to Make Australia the Lucky Country Once Again
Australia is emerging as a surprising beneficiary of new technological shifts, even as the country faces a growth hit from the Middle East war. Rapidly accelerating data construction is driving an unprecedented demand for copper, while battery solutions are fueling a massive consumption of lithium. Escalating geopolitical tension is also providing a powerful tailwind for rare earths as Western nations hunt for secure ex-China supply – all of which is highly positive for the country's mining sector. Meanwhile, sticky inflation has forced the Reserve Bank of Australia to become one of…
27 May 2026 · 20 min
Korea's AI Boom and the Rise of Leveraged Trading
South Korea remains the world's hottest stock market, surging more than 250% over the past 18 months led by semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together account for over half of the entire Kospi index. Fueled by the global AI infrastructure buildout, retail investors have poured close to $40 billion into the local market, sparking concerns about rising leverage and market volatility. A two-times leveraged SK Hynix ETF launched by CSOP in Hong Kong in October has already attracted inflows of more than $5 billion, making it the largest single-stock ETF in the world.…
20 May 2026 · 26 min
BlackRock on Crypto, Tokenization and Future ETFs
Exchange-traded funds are fundamentally reshaping how capital is allocated, skyrocketing to a $22 trillion global industry that Bloomberg Intelligence estimates will surpass $50 trillion by 2035. Investors no longer view them simply as vehicles for broad passive exposure. Instead, ETFs have evolved into portfolio "Lego blocks" used to manage cash yields, seek downside protection and access previously difficult asset classes such as Bitcoin. This intersection of ETFs and digital assets is also driving broader financial innovation, spurring a lively debate around the future tokenization of…
13 May 2026 · 29 min
A Veteran's Warning on Asia's Private Credit Risks
The post-pandemic era transformed private credit into one of the hottest areas in finance as investors chased double-digit returns, creating a multi-trillion-dollar industry. Now, the narrative is quickly shifting as default rates climb, high-profile bankruptcies expose hidden leverage, and some major funds suddenly freeze withdrawals. So just how worried should we be, and what about Asian private credit specifically? Steve Smith, co-founder of Maybole Capital Partners and a finance veteran who has weathered eight credit cycles over his 40-year career, joins John Lee on the Asia Centric…
6 May 2026 · 20 min
Beijing Auto Show Heralds a Brutal EV War
The war in Iran and high oil prices are driving a surge in demand for China's electric vehicles abroad, with sales in March jumping more than 50% in countries such as Australia, Brazil and Germany. However, the domestic market paints a bleaker picture. Total domestic auto sales slumped 17% in the first quarter amid a brutal price war, subsidy pullbacks and a new 5% EV tax. Adding to the pressure, global giants like Volkswagen are fighting back with new, highly competitive models, leveraging a localized cost base to regain their footing in the world's largest auto market. Bloomberg…
29 Apr 2026 · 15 min
Asia's Tech Giants Are Now Challenging the Mag 7
Earnings season is officially underway and Asia's technology giants are setting the early pace. TSMC, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have all delivered strong numbers, prompting analysts to significantly raise earnings expectations for South Korea and Taiwan – two of the world's best-performing stock markets. These three tech behemoths are now challenging the "Magnificent Seven" as some of the most profitable companies in the world. Yet despite this massive growth, Korean chipmakers are trading at just a fraction of Mag 7 valuations, suggesting investors aren’t fully convinced…
22 Apr 2026 · 19 min
Singapore Bets Big on AI, Equity Market Reforms
Singapore's stability and business-friendly environment have long made it the regional hub of choice for tech giants such as Amazon, Google and ByteDance. However, the city-state's traditional role as a bridge between East and West is under pressure. Rising protectionism, technological decoupling and a global retreat from free trade now threaten the open flows of capital that built its wealth. To defend its crown, Singapore is going on the offensive. The government is pouring a fresh S$1 billion into public AI research, expanding critical infrastructure like Changi Airport, and pursuing…
15 Apr 2026 · 31 min
An Activist Investor’s Playbook for Southeast Asia
Corporate governance reform has acted as a major catalyst for stock markets in Japan and South Korea. Now, Southeast Asia is eager to get in on the action, with countries from Vietnam to Indonesia rolling out new measures to entice foreign capital back to the region. But is Southeast Asia – a market historically saddled with a perception of poor corporate governance – truly ready to embrace shareholder activism? Christopher Beselin, CIO and founding partner at Endurance Capital, a shareholder activist fund based in Ho Chi Minh City, joins John Lee on the Asia Centric podcast.…
8 Apr 2026 · 22 min
How TSMC Powered Taiwan's Remarkable GDP Growth
Taiwan's economy defied all expectations to post a staggering 8.7% real GDP growth in 2025. This unprecedented expansion was driven by a boom in semiconductor sales, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) fueling a current account surplus of nearly 20% of GDP. The tech giant is so dominant that it now accounts for more than 44% of Taiwan's stock exchange weighted index. But can this extraordinary, semiconductor-led growth continue? The heavy reliance on TSMC is creating a K-shaped recovery, which poses a headache for the central bank. With inflation relatively low despite the…
1 Apr 2026 · 20 min
Iran War Drives New Global Urgency for Rare Earths
The Iran war is refocusing global attention on the critical supply chains that power modern military arsenals. Rare earths are essential components in advanced weaponry, from fighter jets to interceptor missiles such as THAAD and Patriot. However, with Chinese export restrictions increasingly targeting equipment with military end-uses, Western nations are facing a critical shortage of the materials needed to rearm. How long will it take for countries to counter China's near-monopoly and achieve true supply independence? And beyond the defense sector, what is the long-term growth potential…
25 Mar 2026 · 20 min
Energy Threats Expose Korea and Taiwan Chip Hubs
Manufacturing the world's most advanced semiconductors demands a massive, uninterrupted supply of electricity. In Taiwan, the technology sector alone accounts for a staggering one-quarter of the economy's total power consumption. However, the war in the Middle East is exposing deep vulnerabilities for both South Korea and Taiwan, as these vital chipmaking hubs rely heavily on oil, LNG and chemical gases flowing through the region. If the conflict drags on, exactly how long can strategic energy reserves last in Seoul and Taipei? Could sudden power shortages during the high-demand summer peak…

About Asia Centric by Bloomberg Intelligence

Asia Centric by Bloomberg Intelligence is a English business podcast from Bloomberg. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Bloomberg
Language: English
Category: Business
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 21 min
Latest episode: 14 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1660129416
Rights: 2026 Bloomberg

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