70% of global GDP growth comes from this region - are you paying attention?

Please note this interview was recorded on Tuesday 11 March 2025.

Fund profile

• Name of the fund and ASX ticker: Platinum Asia Fund (Quoted Managed Hedge Fund) (ASX: PAXX)
• Asset Class: Global equities
• Investment objective: To provide capital growth over the long term by providing exposure to undervalued listed investments in the Asian region (excluding Japan).
• Fund Page: (VIEW LINK)

Platinum Asset Management’s Cameron Robertson believes that not enough investors are taking advantage of the opportunities in Asia. With the region representing 70% of global GDP growth and stocks currently trading at comparatively low valuations, he believes there are excellent opportunities.

“There are huge populations and these economies are growing, industries are emerging. There’s a lot of opportunities there,” Robertson enthuses, noting that investors have been put off by a lack of familiarity with the region and its companies.

He believes working with a specialist is critical to success in understanding the nuances of a country and determining whether a business is truly mispriced or not.

The Asian region has had a challenging few years, with Robertson pointing to a strong US dollar, high rates and inflation concerns in the US as having created headwinds.

“As a result, we’ve seen Asian markets de-rate - they’re really cheap. I think people should be looking at it right now. But more broadly, I also think the Asian region is important for people to think about when they’re making an allocation to global equities,” Robertson says.

Plenty of opportunities in China to watch

China has had its fair share of concerns in recent times, such as the challenged property sector or, more recently, questions over what US tariffs might mean for its economy. But Robertson has allocated more than half of his portfolio to Chinese companies and retains a high conviction.

“You can build portfolios that aren’t exposed to tariffs and all of these geopolitical concerns, whether that’s companies that are exposed to domestic issues or e-commerce type businesses” he says.

He focuses on companies that are consumer-facing and domestic, highlighting other opportunities like Tencent (NASDAQ: TME) or JD.com (HKG: 9618), through to “smaller companies that are involved in waterproofing or global leaders in stage lighting.”

“There’s a really broad range of opportunities that I think creates an interesting hunting ground for investors who are willing to still roll up their sleeves, get involved and have a look around what China’s got to offer,” Robertson says.

He’s starting to see signs of stabilisation in the Chinese economy and believes companies serving domestic consumers could be well-placed to benefit.

Two companies to watch

Robertson focuses on mispriced opportunities across Asia for his portfolio. Two examples of his approach include JD.com (HKG: 9618) and Pakuwon Jati (IDX: PWON).

“One of the things that really differentiates JD from some other e-commerce platforms is they own the customer experience from end to end,” says Robertson, explaining that they manage products, warehouses and the deliveries inhouse.

“This is a company where you’re paying single-digit multiple earnings (8-9x earnings), and has net cash on the balance sheet,” he says, highlighting it is a big opportunity.

Pakuwon Jati is a different type of opportunity, with Robertson describing it as the “Westfields of Indonesia”. 

The property market has been weak in Indonesia and consumer spending has been tough. The business is trading on 8.5x earnings, but as a debt-free, net cash developer with a land bank “worth about as much as the market cap" before you consider the existing shopping centres, it could stand to benefit from any recovery in the market.

A place in the portfolio

Outside of domestic allocations, Robertson notes that investors tend to skew towards US markets in their equity allocations. Ignoring volatility in the US, it does mean that investors might be missing significant opportunities.

“Typically we see our clients using [the fund] as a satellite allocation, so they might add it on to their broader equities allocation because they see the opportunity that Asia presents to them,” Robertson says.

And, as Robertson highlighted earlier, with valuations looking cheap, now could be an excellent time to be looking at the Asian region.

To find out more about the Platinum Asia Fund (Quoted Managed Hedge Fund) (ASX: PAXX) and the opportunities Robertson sees, watch the Fund in Focus above.

Time codes:

ETF

Platinum Asia Fund (Quoted Managed Hedge Fund) (PAXX)

Global Shares

View