Making Sense · Nov 5, 2026 · 19m · 12m saved
With Joyce Chang, Chair of Global Research at J.P. Morgan
Just 32 countries now account for 95% of global growth, down from 54 in April, Joyce Chang, chair of global research at J.P. Morgan, told Sjoerd Leenart on J.P. Morgan's Making Sense podcast. The pair spoke after the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok.
The IMF's headline forecast looks steady, with world growth rising next year. Joyce's point was that the growth is coming from fewer places, and that inflation is going up with it.
"The IMF still has fairly constructive projections. They are looking at growth at 3.1% this year and actually increasing next year to 3.4%. But we also see a rise in global headline inflation to 4.7% because of higher commodity prices." — Joyce Chang
Joyce chairs J.P. Morgan's global research division, and in Bangkok she was reporting what the policymakers and investors at the meetings told her. Sjoerd runs J.P. Morgan's banking business in Asia Pacific and spoke for the clients on the ground.
The full episode is covered here so you can skip it. 19 minutes of audio, 7 minutes of reading.
Here are the 10 calls that matter.
Key Takeaways
Just 32 countries account for 95% of global growth, down from 54 in April
Asia will take most of the world's data-center investment outside the US, Sjoerd says
Joyce expects AI capital spending to keep rising because demand for computing still exceeds supply
Memory chips have grown to nearly 50% of data-center spending
Investors have moved from fear of missing out to picking quality
Germany is more exposed to Chinese exports than the US, across autos, machinery and chemicals
AI has cut the time to exploit a software flaw from months to hours
1. Southeast Asia's Size
The IMF meetings were in Bangkok, which last hosted them in 1991. Sjoerd Leenart, CEO of J.P. Morgan's Asia Pacific banking business, said Southeast Asia's economy has grown roughly ninefold since 1998, to $4.5 trillion. The 11 ASEAN countries have nearly 700 million people and, taken together, would rank as the world's fourth-largest economy.
J.P. Morgan treats the region as a permanent market, Sjoerd said. Investment there rises and falls but never stops. The bank is adding bankers and putting money into its equities business and payments technology.
J.P. Morgan is hiring to cover midsize companies and wealthy clients in Asia
"We're hiring people to cover the corporate sector, including increasingly midcap and innovation economy, private bankers, to cover the growing number of wealthy Asian clients." — Sjoerd Leenart
