I predicted last year that Korea would be a good market, and in fact it is now drawing attention as the best stock market. The KOSPI index has risen a lot from last year, and expectations for Korea's "Value-Up 2.0" are high.
Joshua Crabb, head of Asia-Pacific at Robeco Asset Management, said this at a briefing on "Robeco's 2026 global stock market outlook" held at the Korea Institute of Financial Investment on Dec. 10 in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.
Robeco Asset Management is the largest asset manager in the Netherlands, with total assets under management (AUM) exceeding 300 trillion won. Crabb oversees the Asia-Pacific institutional sector.
At the briefing, Crabb assessed that the value-up policy underway in Korea to boost corporate value is delivering better-than-expected results. He said, "Beyond corporate earnings, the amount of share buybacks and cases of share cancellations are increasing, and the rise will accelerate further as governance reform moves from voluntary disclosure to being codified."
He also analyzed that the outlook for Asian stock markets, including Korea, China, Japan and India, is positive. Comparing the global stock market over the past five years (2020–2025) to the 1990s, Crabb emphasized the growth potential of Asian markets. He said, "Due to the East Asian financial crisis in the 1990s, Asian markets were shunned, and as U.S. internet corporations launched at the same time, the gap between the United States and Asia widened," adding, "But as internet corporations also launched in the latecomer Asian markets, they traced the same upward curve as the United States."
He also saw that big tech corporations like Tesla could emerge in Asia going forward, concentrating investment demand. According to Robeco Asset Management, the Asia-Pacific region's gross domestic product (GDP) growth outlook is 4.9%, higher than Europe's 3.3% and the United States' 2.1%. Crabb said, "Although it is undervalued now, we expect Asia's valuation to rise with the launch of AI corporations."
Regarding the recent spread of the "AI bubble theory" worldwide, he still expected strong growth potential for related corporations. Crabb said, "Everyone is investing in AI, and if it's a meeting related to AI, more than 10 times as many people attend. Thanks to AI technology, overall corporations and markets outside the United States can also break out of undervaluation."
Reasons for a continued favorable environment for the U.S. stock market next year included: ▲ easing trade tensions ▲ rising manufacturing results ▲ lower taxes ▲ increased export demand ▲ Central Bank monetary policy. However, increased consumption due to the "2026 FIFA World Cup," co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico, and the United States' 250th anniversary events next year could add to inflation pressures.
Lastly, he assessed the future won-dollar exchange rate movement against the U.S. dollar conservatively. Crabb said, "Most currency is influenced largely by U.S. moves, but the United States currently cannot move aggressively due to unemployment and inflation, so we need to watch how other regions like Europe react to gauge direction."