Chief Economist & Political Strategist, CrossASEAN Research

Prasenjit K. Basu

PK Basu has 34 years experience covering Asia's economies and markets (equities, fixed income and currencies), including 20 years covering the global economy. He was Chief Economist (SE Asia & India) at Credit Suisse First Boston for 5 years, and Chief Asia (x-Jpn) Economist at Daiwa Securities for a similar period. Among other roles, he was global head of research at Maybank Kim Eng, Malaysia equity research head and chief ASEAN economist at Macquarie, Chief Economist at ICICI Securities, ASEAN economist at UBS and the first chief economist at Khazanah Nasional (where he was co-head of research, and led all agri-business initiatives). PK Basu started his career in the Asia Service of WEFA (Wharton Econometrics) in Philadelphia in 1990, rising to be Director of their Asia Service in June 1994. 
PK's book, "Asia Reborn: A continent rises from the ravages of Colonialism and War to a New Dynamism" won the Tata Literature First Book Award (non-fiction) for 2018. It is the first single chronicle of the modern economic and political history of the whole of Asia (from Iraq and Turkey to Korea and Japan, and everything in between), told from an Asian perspective.

Chief Economist & Political Strategist

US Presidential Race Narrows, but Trump Still Likely to Win Without Congress Control

US: Presidential Race Remains a Dead Heat but Perceived Inflation Likely a Tiebreaker

U.S. Election Scenarios and Post-Election Policy Risks

Will Presidential Election Cycle Theory Fuel Continued US Equities Rally in 2H 2024?

Biden's Catastrophic Debate Likely to Lead to 1968-Repeat; Can It End Differently?

Long Volatility & Gold, Caution on Equities, and Short Dollar & Oil Under Trump 2.0

CrossASEAN Research

At CrossASEAN Research we strive to produce unbiased and differentiated on the ground insights on companies across South East Asia. Our Research is produced for the most part after face to face meetings and conversations with company management to dig deep into the long term vision and strategy of the companies we cover. We seek to deliver investable and actionable themes on sectors and markets across SE Asia, often in collaboration with other Insight Providers across the region, pooling the vast experience of the analysts within the Smartkarma Ecosystem. We also offer bespoke work and tailor made trips for our clients. 

Insights across South East Asia

Macroeconomics

<ul>
<li>24 days after his catastrophic debate, and 29 days before the Democratic convention, President Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed VP Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. </li>
<li>The latest polls showed Trump leading Biden by 3pp in the average of polls, including big leads in all seven battleground states. Harris is marginally closer in match-ups against Trump. </li>
<li>Trump-Vance have momentum after RNC. To be competitive, Harris (if endorsed by DNC) would need to pick an exciting, moderate candidate (eg, PA governor Shapiro) and hew to the centre.</li>
</ul>


24 days after his catastrophic debate, and 29 days before the Democratic convention, President Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed VP Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. 
The latest polls showed Trump leading Biden by 3pp in the average of polls, including big leads in all seven battleground states. Harris is marginally closer in match-ups against Trump. 
Trump-Vance have momentum after RNC. To be competitive, Harris (if endorsed by DNC) would need to pick an exciting, moderate candidate (eg, PA governor Shapiro) and hew to the centre.


Biden Leaves Presidential Race, Endorses VP Harris; Contest to Tighten if Dems Unite