Things you might not have known about Asia’s markets, according to HSBC

Asia’s markets are expected to continue powering ahead this year, despite a rocky 2023.

Most investors may already know which were the the best — and worst — performing markets last year. (If not, read here.)

But HSBC Global Research recently revealed lesser known facts about Asian stock markets in 2023, and CNBC picked out three.

1. Apple’s market cap was bigger than the whole of Taiwan’s or South Korea’s stock market

Asia has been touted as the growth area to watch out for in the world. The International Monetary Fund is expecting 4.2% growth from the region in 2024, compared to 2.9% globally.

However, what may not be apparent is the size of the gap Asia has to bridge.

Apple, the largest company in the world by market cap, is larger than the entire listed equity universe of Taiwan or South Korea.

According to HSBC’s data, Apple was worth $3.01 trillion at the end of 2023.

The company that created the iPhone and Macintosh is also bigger than six of Southeast Asian largest markets combined, the bank said in its report.

As of Dec. 29, South Korea’s entire listed equity universe stood at $1.9 trillion, while Taiwan’s entire listed equity universe was at $2 trillion.

The ASEAN-6, made up of the economies of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand had a total listed equity universe of $2.5 trillion.

2. The combined market cap of the top 5 Chinese property companies was equal to Indonesia’s largest bank, BCA.

Southeast Asia as a region is a relatively smaller market compared to China, the world’s second largest economy. But Chinese stocks took a massive hit in 2023, falling nearly 12% last year as real estate stocks plunged.

Last year, two companies in that sector dominated headlines: Country Garden Holdings and Evergrande