Interview

The Asian bet: after a long hibernation, investments in China are returning

Federico Bazzoni, CEO of Vantage Capital Markets is half optimistic and emphasises the cautiousness of Indonesia Thailand and Malaysia

22 May 2025

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Federico Bazzoni, ceo di Vantage Capital Markets

2' min read

Who is betting on Asia after the tariff cyclone that has brought turmoil around the world? Federico Bazzoni, ceo of Vantage Capital Markets is half optimistic.

What appeal does Asia have after the arrival of Cyclone Trump 2.0? Is it still an attractive time to invest in Asia and if so why?

Even more interesting I would say. There was a sharp contraction in 2024, indeed a lethargy for at least two years, then a resurgence of interest during Trump's first announcements and then a very strong volatility now very interesting valuations never like now especially Hong Kong and China are being reset compared to other markets. They all return to investing in the coming months.

And Asia? Asian capital? What is your sentiment.

We are seeing within Asia more ambitions of M&I in Indonesia Thailand Malaysia, but not like with China, they are still cautious before making heavy moves.

As for outgoing capital from China marginally there is some much more movement, there are outgoing filters but on some big technology names and everything on the high end of technology.

Data centres? Do they have a future as investments?

Absolutely yes, but here too I make a distinction in the markets today there is no longer a race to make datacentres in China but in side countries it is exploding a bit because due to environmental constraints its Singapore is moving these environmental datacentres, elsewhere in Malaysia there is a boom, the same for Japan which needs them like the bread.

Indonesia is also very strong where we have three deals in progress. This is a country that needs data centre logistics ditto for Korea

Is the renminbi and internationalisation a way to enhance financial flows or not?

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Here there is a trivial but real structural problem the yuan is not convertible. So clearly it cannot be a strong currency to be convertible it must be in HK dollars linked to the US dollar.

I do not see an international renminbi for the time being, the reforms for the true opening of the Chinese financial markets seem to be marking time. The same goes for the digital yuan, evidently.