The Asia-Pacific leader of Blackstone Group L.P. recently announced that the firm views China and Southeast Asia as the top two hot spots for Asian investments next year.
“Certainly China will remain a core focus for us. We are long-term very bullish about China,’ said Michael Chae. “Southeast Asia, and Indonesia in particular, we also think it quite interesting.”
He went on the add that Asia is still strongly tied with the West, and that volatility in both global and Asian markets is impacting investment moves now, and will continue to do so throughout 2012.
“There’s an above-average level of uncertainty around macro conditions in this region and globally, which makes it a really intellectually interesting time to be alive and to be investing,” Chae said.
Investments in growth markets such as China focuses on consumption, he said. Blackstone, therefore, will put an emphasis on consumer retail, healthcare and healthcare products, leisure and pharmaceuticals.
“In China and some of the other emerging markets in Asia, this is sort of a truism by now for investors, domestic consumption growth, growth of the middle class and urbanization themes,” he said.