The Man Who Opened the Window 90% of the world’s growth is on the other side of the glass

Andrew Robb was on stage at the Captech conference in Sydney last month. Former trade minister, the man who negotiated Australia's free trade deal with China. If anyone in the country has earned a view on Asia, it's him.

He gave the room a number: "90% of the world's growth over the next 30 years will come from South East Asia" he said. I'd stretch this to include India - the same story but on a bigger stage.

It's still the story of the Asian Century.

And it's no mystery. Growth comes from young people getting richer - working, moving to cities, buying for the first time the things the West long ago stopped noticing it had. That doesn't happen in Japan, where the median age is 50. Or Italy, or Korea. It happens here. The Philippines: 27. India: 29. Indonesia: 31. Vietnam: 34. A whole region at the age the West was during its boom.

Robb spent years opening the window onto all of this - the trade deals, the access, the terms that put Asian growth within an Australian's reach.

The strange part is how so few have looked.

Study the average Aussie super fund and you'll find the same names. American tech, a few British banks, the big miners and property groups at home. All the places that grew yesterday. Barely a dollar in Asia - not even much in China.

At the same conference, Armina ('Arms') Rosenberg (who runs Minotaur Capital) challenged the room to ask their adviser how much of their money is invested in South East Asia. She knew the answer. Zero.

The window is wide open. Most of us are still facing the other way.

PS. I've been working on how an investor actually owns this growth, rather than just admiring it. Happy to talk if it's your patch. More from the corridor here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidthomas-asia/