Asia opportunities outweigh risks from North Korea

KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reacts during the long-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 (Mars-12) test launch in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 15, 2017.

“So from our point of view, despite what’s happening in North Korea, a lot of our resources are dedicated to Asia. And I think that will continue,” she added.

Tashiro named Southeast Asia as an important market to expand into as the region looks to be a key beneficiary of the China-led “One Belt, One Road” initiative.

“We look at (“One Belt, One Road”) because it might change a lot of things: the geopolitical connection between Asia and Europe, how much is going to be put into infrastructure, in terms of how people are going to move. So Southeast Asia obviously will be part of it and it will be very important,” she said.

Daiwa has been ramping up its presence in Southeast Asia. Last year, it invested nearly 20 billion yen (about $181 million) in a Vietnamese securities company and a Malaysian investment bank. It also bought shares in a Myanmar internet service provider and is working with the frontier country’s government to develop its capital market.