00:00You know, we talk about the challenges, the uncertainties in the world today.
00:03How are you assessing and how are you positioning for the next 12 to 24 months?
00:08How do you envision it would unfold?
00:11Well, with respect to Asia, we still see a lot of positive developments.
00:15Obviously, every country will be affected differently by the tariff discussion.
00:19But overall, we expect good growth well above the world's global average.
00:24We have 40 percent of the Fortune 500 companies here.
00:27We have every four out of 10 billionaires, basically.
00:30So there's a lot of opportunity here.
00:32And we expect this region to be 50 percent of GDP by 2050.
00:36So, you know, we're setting the firm up to help clients navigate that growth.
00:40How is China looking?
00:42Because the uncertainty of terror is putting a lot of question marks on where it goes in terms of growth.
00:48And China is the biggest contributor for your business.
00:52China has actually been a very good place for us to do business.
00:56Even when governments aren't quite aligned, there is an enormous amount of interaction between global companies and Chinese companies, international investors, Chinese companies.
01:06So, for example, in 2024, our revenues actually grew by 20 percent.
01:10We're essentially helping a lot of Chinese clients build out their global footprint.
01:14And we're also helping all these global companies how to navigate China and the changes in consumer behavior.
01:23Don't forget, 98 percent of all Fortune 500 companies, they're banking here in China.
01:28Because, after all, it's almost 20 percent of the world's GDP.
01:30So they've got to figure out.
01:31And they need a lot of help with hedging, with restructuring the business, with building out, buying new brands.
01:38So, yeah, I think there is a lot to do despite the sort of overall concern about the economy.
01:42But do you see any drag at all coming from U.S. terrorists on China?
01:47Might you be underpricing, using your CEO's expression, might you be underpricing the risks?
01:53Well, there's no doubt that the world is a little bit more complicated than before the tariffs.
02:01And that it will likely impact growth in almost every country, although there may be a few beneficiaries.
02:07So there's no denying of that.
02:09But, you know, we ultimately, as you know, Jamie calls economy the weather.
02:12You know, we sit through these cycles.
02:14And it doesn't change the way we invest in countries.
02:17And still, clients have got to run their business.
02:19And they need the help from banks like us to do that.
02:22Increasingly, you hear people talk about diversification, not just from the U.S., but also within Asia.
02:28With China showing signs of slowing down, do you see perhaps India becoming a more crucial market?
02:33Might India narrow the gap, even though the margins are pretty thin right now?
02:38Asia has, you know, a couple of interesting developments.
02:42One is India, where we have had 10 years of leadership under Modi, now a third term.
02:47So it's really giving investors the confidence that they will continue on the same path
02:51and be able to grow 5% to 6%.
02:53So it's still, I mean, about 25% of the size of China.
02:57So there's a long way to go.
02:58But the amount of innovation, their improvement in manufacturing, infrastructure is remarkable.
03:04And sure, there's a lot to do.
03:06Even this year, I think we have more than 20 IPOs that we're going to bring to market.
03:11Just the other one I want to mention is Japan.
03:13It's obviously been a fantastically bright spot.
03:15But, you know, all the way back to Abe Economics, that was the start of a transition around corporate governance,
03:22cleaning up structures of companies, has created an enormous amount of opportunity for Japanese companies,
03:28but also for international investors.
03:30But what's the strategy in Japan?
03:31And when you talk about capitalizing on the opportunities, what exactly are you hoping to do in the next 12, 24 months?
03:37Just being set up to support the growing need for advice, for financing, for capital raising.
03:46So it's nothing that we're building completely new capabilities.
03:49We're just sort of expanding the teams to make sure that we have enough capacity to help all these clients.
03:54And, for example, in Japan, you know, there's, I think, 2,000 listed companies.
03:59So you can make a choice.
04:00You know, do I bank 100, 200, 300?
04:02And what we see with a lot of these companies is that they become more international.
04:06So what we would have deemed mid-cap more domestically focused nowadays, we see them sell their products abroad, raise capital abroad.
04:14So that's increasingly also a group of clients that is actually very interesting for J.P. Morgan.
04:19And that's, for example, why we started a mid-cap initiative over the last few years to cover those sort of clients in China, in India, Japan, and Australia.
04:27Talk to us about your strategy in Asia, your priorities in Asia.
04:32When you took over from Filippo Gauri, what was the overriding ambition?
04:37Where are you with that?
04:40Well, I'd say our overriding ambition is growth in a responsible way.
04:45And there were a number of countries that we gave a deep dive.
04:49I talked about India and Japan.
04:51And there's also a set of lines of business or industries that we're focused on.
04:55On the corporate side, there's a lot happening.
04:58I talked about the mid-cap initiative.
05:00There's enormous amount of innovation.
05:02And we've realized over the years that that takes a specialized coverage, both for venture capital as well as for these companies.
05:08Their needs are a bit more specific.
05:10There's the whole energy transition that requires specialization.
05:14So that's sort of in the corporate sector.
05:16And also cross-border.
05:17For example, we're putting more Japanese, Korean bankers in Mexico, in Saudi Arabia to help them navigate.
05:25Wealth is another big opportunity.
05:27There is obviously a lot of wealth creation in Asia.
05:30And it's also still a very fragmented market.
05:32So in many of our businesses, we're already quite dominant.
05:35But then in places like private bank, I think we can gain substantial market share.
05:39But as the needs of clients change, more sophisticated product, more global products, I think this will be our time.
05:46So that will translate to more hirings for you for the region?
05:50Constantly hiring.
05:51Quantify that for us?
05:52I don't know if we put numbers so much on.
05:55Put numbers to it, sure.
05:57No, but seriously, it's all around these initiatives.
05:59In the mid-cap, we put 40, 50 bankers in place in private bank.
06:03Every week we add bankers.
06:05So seriously, it is in a constant, ongoing flow.
06:09There is one other area I wanted to mention around innovation, around investment, and that is on the technology front.
06:15Sure, just very quickly, we've seen leadership changes at JPMorgan in Asia in the last several years.
06:21Is that done?
06:22Well, which leadership should be coming?
06:25I mean, I would say that.
06:27Is there stability now?
06:28There is huge stability because when I came, I realized what an unbelievably experienced management team there is in place there.
06:35From all the lines of business to senior country officers, I'm extremely lucky and proud of the team we have in place.
06:44So, yeah, I think we're set up for the future.
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