US Asset Efficiency Drives Capital Outflow from Asian Markets

A widening disparity in corporate profitability and asset efficiency is shifting global capital from Asian markets toward the United States. Since 2022, American firms have significantly outpaced their Asian counterparts in return on assets and return on equity, driven by the surge in the AI sector, debt-funded acquisitions, and aggressive share buybacks.

ANZ Group Holdings Ltd. reports that this trend of American exceptionalism is reinforced by interest rate differentials, as US Treasuries provide superior real yields compared to the low policy rates maintained by Asian central banks. While technology hubs such as Taiwan, South Korea, and Malaysia continue to benefit from tech exports, other regional economies struggle to attract foreign direct investment.

The shift is compounded by the declining influence of the Government of China, which can no longer serve as a regional economic counterweight due to a property sector collapse and industrial overcapacity. This vacuum has forced policymakers in India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand to adjust their strategies to avoid balance-of-payments distress.