China Plus One is a strategy companies are following to diversify their investments and supply chains from China to other countries | File Image
JPMorgan, the largest bank in the US, is bullish on India and Japan within Asia but is also keen to free up resources for Southeast Asia, which benefits from its “China Plus One” strategy, a senior bank official said.
“India is still firmly in the top three, possibly the top two in Asia, together with Japan. The growth in India is actually very broad-based,” Sjoerd Leenart, CEO of JPMorgan Asia Pacific, said in an interview on Monday.
“We are investing on all fronts in India. We are adding bankers, we are injecting more capital into the business and we are building capabilities such as technology investments to serve new segments of the market,” he added.
According to Leenart, JPMorgan expects its commercial banking operations, which focus on mid-market companies, to grow by as much as 30 percent in India in the coming years.
India should further develop its manufacturing ecosystem and ensure scalability to benefit from the ‘China Plus One’ strategy, from which Southeast Asian countries are currently largely benefiting, he added.
China Plus One is a strategy companies use to diversify their investments and supply chains from China to other countries.
“In India, the next trajectory will be in a sense about becoming a manufacturing center, creating jobs for the working class. That is an opportunity, but it is almost a necessity for India,” Leenart said.
“So if that strategy doesn’t work, then India may not do as well as people expect. That’s probably the hardest thing to implement,” he said, adding that he still expects India could succeed.
On Japan, Leenart said that interest rates are now positive and that customers are interested again. He also said that the country offers many opportunities in terms of business activities and rates.
JPMorgan’s operations in China are growing significantly and Leenart said despite concerns about slow economic growth, the country cannot be ignored.
“We’re actually quite excited about what we have in China. We have all the capabilities and we want to maximize the opportunities we have with domestic and international clients. It’s actually growing quite nicely.” JPMorgan wants to invest in Southeast Asia, where the combined economies are around $3 trillion, making it almost as large as India, Leenart said.
“It’s obviously a bit more difficult to find your way around because it’s spread across five or six countries, but that’s an area we’re keen to invest in.”
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First publication: Sep 24, 2024 | 12:04 PM IST
