Bloomberg data released today shows China and India’s top 10 listed firms now represent about 19% of their total market capitalisation, down from 26% and 22% respectively a year ago, reflecting a lag in the AI-driven technology race [1, 2, 3]. Hong Kong also saw a slight decline, with its top 10 companies dropping to 9.8% from 10% last year [1, 2, 3].
In contrast, Taiwan and South Korea’s markets have outperformed sharply amid gains by AI-linked companies. Taiwan’s benchmark has risen 54% this year, powered by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and other tech leaders [1, 2, 3]. South Korea’s Kospi roughly doubled, boosted by SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics. The top 10 firms in South Korea now hold about 65% of market value, nearly twice their share from a year ago [1, 2, 3]. Taiwan’s top 10 companies also increased their market cap share to 56% from 49% in the same period [1, 2, 3].
India’s benchmark Nifty 50 is down about 8% this year and remains dominated by legacy companies such as Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank [1, 2, 3]. Leading Indian IT firms like Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys are focused on traditional software services vulnerable to disruption from AI technologies [1, 2, 3].
Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets, said, "Asia’s concentration story is split. In the tech-heavy markets, AI and memory winners are driving index concentration higher. But in India, China and Hong Kong, concentration is falling because there is no single dominant AI winner" [1].
The data released today highlights the widening gap in market leadership roles across major Asian stock markets amid AI adoption. China and India’s top companies have lost ground compared to their Taiwan and South Korean counterparts, who have leveraged AI advances to power market gains [1, 2, 3].
