What Percent of Your Portfolio Should be Asian? - A review of Asian Governance Ratings:

What Percent of Your Portfolio Should be Asian?
A review of Asian Governance Ratings

Asian GDP is bigger than that of Europe, the Americas and Africa combined. Asia accounts for well over half of global GDP. And Asian GDP growth has accounted for around 70% of global growth over the past decade. So, shouldn't Asia comprise 50%+ of your investments by value?

Probably not. The problem with Asia is that this vast geographical space (however defined) includes many countries you probably wouldn't want to live in, and on whose data, you cannot rely, This Insight reviews the role of Governance in deciding which parts of Asia are relatively safe places in which to invest. World Economics defines Governance using 4 Indexes: Rule of Law; Press Freedom; Political Rights; and Corruption.

Asian Country Governance Ratings
Ranked by governance rating group and country name. A= Very good, E= Very poor

Country										Governance (Rated: A-E)
Australia										A
Japan										A
Korea, Rep.										A
New Zealand										A
Taiwan										A
Bhutan										B
Brunei										B
Israel										B
Singapore										B
Hong Kong										C
India										C
Indonesia										C
Jordan										C
Kuwait										C
Malaysia										C
Mongolia										C
Nepal										C
Oman										C
Papua New Guinea										C
Philippines										C
Qatar										C
Sri Lanka										C
Thailand										C
United Arab Emirates										C
Bahrain										D
Bangladesh										D
Kazakhstan										D
Saudi Arabia										D
Türkiye										D
Afghanistan										E
Azerbaijan										E
Cambodia										E
China										E
Kyrgyzstan										E
Laos										E
Lebanon										E
Myanmar										E
Pakistan										E
Russia										E
Tajikistan										E
Turkmenistan										E
Uzbekistan										E
Vietnam										E
Yemen, Rep.										E

Country		Governance (Rated: A-E)
Australia		A
Japan		A
Korea, Rep.		A
New Zealand		A
Taiwan		A
Bhutan		B
Brunei		B
Israel		B
Singapore		B
Hong Kong		C
India		C
Indonesia		C
Jordan		C
Kuwait		C
Malaysia		C
Mongolia		C
Nepal		C
Oman		C
Papua New Guinea		C
Philippines		C
Qatar		C
Sri Lanka		C
Thailand		C
United Arab Emirates		C
Bahrain		D
Bangladesh		D
Kazakhstan		D
Saudi Arabia		D
Türkiye		D
Afghanistan		E
Azerbaijan		E
Cambodia		E
China		E
Kyrgyzstan		E
Laos		E
Lebanon		E
Myanmar		E
Pakistan		E
Russia		E
Tajikistan		E
Turkmenistan		E
Uzbekistan		E
Vietnam		E
Yemen, Rep.		E

Source: World Economics Governance Index, 2025

Unfortunately, 42% of countries feature in the D and E columns. Any country with E rated Governance is likely to be an unreliable place in which to invest, and a D Rating should give serious pause for thought (for more on this subject see Places for Investors to Avoid).

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