China became known as the world’s factory thanks to it offering companies a way to manufacture all kinds of goods at a high quality and relatively low cost. But in recent years, south-east Asian nations, including Vietnam and Indonesia, have begun challenging it for that status. Baillie Gifford investment manager Ben Durrant recently returned from a tour of the region. He discusses some of the long-term growth opportunities he unearthed on his trip.
Background
Ben Durrant invests on behalf of the Pacific Horizon Investment Trust, the Pacific Fund, and our Emerging Markets Equity Team. In this latest episode of Short Briefings on Long Term Thinking, he explores the factors that led China to become the world’s leading exporter and how its move up the value chain is now creating opportunities for other south-east Asian countries to grasp. Durrant reviews some of his most memorable encounters in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand and reveals which growth companies excited him the most. They include businesses using mined metals to make car batteries, banks serving populations with growing spending power and, perhaps surprisingly, one of the world’s leading catfish exporters.
Resources:
The Indonesian companies powering the green transition
Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction
01:30 China’s success as a low-cost exporter
03:15 Land reform’s role
04:00 Good quality, low-cost labour
05:45 South-east Asian countries’ advantage
07:15 Vietnam’s growth opportunity
09:30 Vin Hoan: exporting catfish
11:45 Sourcing local insights
13:30 Indonesia’s move up the value chain
16:15 Clusters of expertise in Malaysia
18:00 Looking beyond tourism in Thailand
20:15 Moving up the value chain
22:15 The attraction of growth investing in southeast Asian
23:15 Paying attention to macroeconomics
24:30 Book recommendation
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