Barclays' Khanna on APAC Business Strategy

Bloomberg

Watch Barclays' Khanna on APAC Business Strategy - Bloomberg on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00We are keeping watch on, you know, this U.S.-China trade deal.

00:04That could potentially be a game changer for Barclays.

00:07It's had a great run this year.

00:09That could give the impetus for a better one.

00:13Yes, Slinda.

00:14And first of all, thank you for joining us at the 19th Barclays Asia Forum.

00:19It's lovely to have you here again.

00:22You're right.

00:22You know, there's all eyes on what's happening with the discussions between President Xi and President Trump.

00:30And if, as has been widely reported, and particularly by Bloomberg, the outcome is, you know, positive for the markets,

00:40then I do expect that the current risk on trade that we've been seeing continues to develop.

00:46We've had a strong year in Asia Pacific.

00:48Our business has continued to develop and grow.

00:50And this should give us further momentum.

00:53So, yeah, pretty excited.

00:55You've been building the business in Asia.

00:57Where are the growth pockets right now?

00:59There's a lot of optimism about Japan, for instance.

01:02That seems to be key for a lot of the banks.

01:04We have a very strong markets-oriented and investment banking business in Japan.

01:08We've been investing in that over the last three or four years, making even further investments in that business.

01:13And I'm pretty excited about what the opportunities lie ahead for that economy, and particularly our business.

01:21The other big market, which, you know, a number of your guests and the markets have been talking about, is in India.

01:27That's where I'm based as well.

01:29So, that's another market where, you know, we have plans to continue to invest in the platform.

01:33And then our investments in the region actually have been quite broad-based.

01:40You know, we have a strong partnership in Australia with Barron Joey.

01:43We are making investments there.

01:44The private banking business, which I've talked about last year, we are building a booking platform in Singapore.

01:50So, there are several pockets of investment.

01:53But the two markets that we are particularly focused on are Japan, as you mentioned, and then, of course, India.

02:01Playing to add headcount on the back of that, optimism and given, you know, all the signals so far with the global economy.

02:08We've been steadily adding resources, but it's very targeted.

02:13We like to earn our way as we go rather than build it and they will come.

02:17Targeted how?

02:18And what kind of numbers are you looking at?

02:19Not, they're not massive numbers, but, you know, we've added, I'd like to think about 10 colleagues in our cash equities business in Hong Kong.

02:29And there are further plans to add.

02:33You know, our business doesn't require very large numbers of people, but it certainly does require bringing in skills that we may not have

02:41or improving the quality of the talent that we have on the platform.

02:44You touch on Barron Joey, Alia.

02:47Of course, you have a stake there and the numbers have been great on the back of the bond market.

02:52I'm just wondering whether there's any appetite to increase your stake in Barron Joey.

02:56That's a strategic decision.

02:58But as I understand it, we are very happy with our current ownership in the joint venture.

03:03That's a great partnership.

03:05The firms get along really well and we prosecute business together.

03:08But at this time, you know, first of all, it's a question.

03:11It's a strategic question.

03:12But at this point, I think we are very comfortable with the ownership that we have.

03:16AI has been front and center for a lot of companies.

03:18The big question is the impact on your headcount.

03:21How are you looking at that?

03:23So, I'm going to step back a little bit.

03:26You know, I've been in the industry 35 years.

03:28Every several years, there's a new technology.

03:31Well, I started when, you know, we didn't have computers yet.

03:35So, I was on the floor when the first computers were introduced.

03:40Every few years, there's a technology that promises to radically reshift the industry and shrink it.

03:47Today, 35 years later, the industry has more talent, more capital, more resources,

03:53and is significantly bigger than it was when I started.

03:56So, I do believe that AI will not fundamentally change that long-term trend.

04:01It'll change jobs.

04:03You know, people will do different things.

04:06But I don't believe that the aggregate headcount in the industry is going to be massively reshaped.

04:12AI, one of our guests that we, you know, that will be speaking later today,

04:17talked about AI permeating everything that we do.

04:22It's going to be like air and water, in his view.

04:24And I do concur and agree with that assessment.

04:28But, you know, hopefully air and water allows everything to grow much faster

04:33and doesn't really lead to shrinkage in anything.

04:34So, given the potential that you mentioned, I'm just wondering whether that justifies the kind of run-up we've seen

04:40in the likes of NVIDIA, now a $5 trillion company.

04:44I'm not sure I'm entirely qualified as lender to, you know, to justify this.

04:49What's the sense? Is there just so much optimism?

04:52It is a radical technology.

04:54I don't think anyone knows what is exactly the right number of investment.

05:01But NVIDIA has a particularly important place in the ecosystem.

05:07So, there are reasons for, there are justifications for the optimism.

05:11But, you know, the particular level, that's very, very hard, certainly for me,

05:15to determine whether it's exactly right or not.

05:17Even as we talk about the positive signs, there are risks.

05:21We saw how the Fed, you know, pushed back on another rate cut in December.

05:26What's the biggest risk you see for your business here?

05:29Well, in the short term, I mean, you know, the outcome of today's events.

05:34Asia is largely an export-oriented economy.

05:37All Asian economies have a big reliance on exports.

05:42You know, the aftermath of Liberation Day has not been as dire as people have predicted.

05:50But certainly, if, you know, today's events and news disappoints,

05:57I think that will have a short-term impact.

06:00I'm a big believer in secular trends, capital and, you know, the economy of the Asian.

06:05The Asian economies continue to grow.

06:07And I think five years, ten years from now,

06:10Asia will continue to occupy a larger space of the global economy than it does today.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended