India, Vietnam top Asia opportunity: Whelan

India and Vietnam stand out as the two most fertile markets for investment in Asia, according to Mark Whelan, Group Executive, Institutional at ANZ.

Speaking at The Australian Financial Review’s Asia Summit in Melbourne, Whelan said ANZ’s capital tended to follow its customers, and many of those customers were attracted to the promising growth profile of the Indian and Vietnamese economies.

“Where we are seeing the greatest opportunity at this point in time is India,” he said. “We’ve had to put additional capital in the bank recently so we can do more business with our customers that are going into India.”

Despite some uncertainty around India’s rise, Whelan told the event the economy’s ascension was for real “this time around”. ANZ Research expects India to record 6.8 per cent growth in the fiscal year ending March 2025.

Vietnam, according to Whelan, is continuing to benefit from the ongoing reshaping in supply chains throughout the Asian region.

“The China-plus-one strategy has been in place for some time,” he said. “But there is gathering momentum, and we think Vietnam is a big recipient of that.”

Vietnam has recorded average growth of more than 6.5 per cent over the past three decades, and ANZ Research expects the economy to record full-year growth of 6 per cent in 2024.

“What we’re seeing in Vietnam is a tremendous growth opportunity,” Whelan said, noting the country’s growing population, education levels and favourable demographic profile.

“If we don’t think that’s an opportunity… [we’re] missing a beat.”

Whelan said the kind of businesses moving into Vietnam ranged from large multinational tech companies to smaller Australian providers.

“It’s a combination,” he said, adding there were numerous smaller companies “taking some steps” into the region – “and we need to encourage that more”.

Whelan said ANZ was focussed on companies “interested in trade and capital flows in the region”.

“And it will continue to be the highest-growth region in the world, by the way, going forward,” he said.

“We’re committed to Asia and we’ll continue to be there.”