Increasing consumer wealth and favourable demographics in Asia

group Report

This week's Conjecture panel discuss the attractiveness of investing in Asian markets

Asian markets are looking increasingly attractive to fund managers Ayaz Ebrahim of HSBC and Simon Somerville of Jupiter, even though the region may experience some short term volatility due to rising US interest rates. The two managers are bullish on the region for numerous reasons, pointing in particular to the favourable demographics and increasing wealth of consumers in Asia. Could you give us some bull and bear points for Asia as a whole for anybody looking to invest in 2005? Ayaz Ebrahim (AE): We still see Asian growth rates as relatively higher than any region in the world, and this...