Even as geopolitical tensions trigger volatility and nearly $60 billion in outflows from Asian equities, HSBC's Herald van der Linde is urging investors to look beyond the noise and focus on structural winners shaping “Future Asia.” The bank's strategy framework blends long-term megatrends — from robotics to clean energy — with near-term stock positioning, highlighting sectors and companies that can ride through both disruption and growth cycles.
Asia is set to dominate industrial automation, with China alone expected to ship 3.7 million humanoid robots by 2034. At the same time, energy security is becoming a central theme — with 44 of the 70 nuclear reactors under construction globally located in Asia. India, notably, plans to triple its nuclear capacity to 22.5 GW by 2032, alongside ambitions to deploy small modular reactors in the next decade.
Healthcare is another cornerstone. India already produces 20% of the world's generic drugs and 60% of global vaccines, cementing its position as a critical node in global pharma supply chains. Meanwhile, China continues to dominate the electric vehicle ecosystem, accounting for over 60% of global EV demand and 70% of battery supply — reinforcing Asia's leadership in next-gen mobility.
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Stock Picks: Leaning Into Structural Growth
Against this backdrop, Van der Linde highlights a set of preferred Indian plays tied to these long-term themes.
Sun Pharma stands out as a proxy for India's global pharma dominance, while Reliance Industries offers exposure across energy transition, retail, and digital ecosystems. Bharti Airtel is positioned to benefit from rising data consumption and digital penetration, and NTPC reflects the push towards power and energy transition.
Van der Linde also flags Apollo Hospitals, ICICI Bank, and SBI Life as attractive opportunities following recent corrections — calling them structural winners with resilient growth visibility.
Crossfire Stocks: Volatility, Not Weakness
He also notes that stocks like Hindalco, Adani Ports, and Godrej Consumer have been caught in the recent market sell-off, largely due to macro volatility rather than any fundamental deterioration.
Van der Linde does not see material risks to their growth trajectories, suggesting that current weakness may be more about positioning and global risk aversion than underlying business stress.
His advice to navigate the current market is either move to cash or rotate into sectors with resilient earnings visibility. In equities, that means focusing on defensive and structural growth themes — telecom, utilities, healthcare, and domestic consumption — rather than highly cyclical or globally exposed segments.
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