Credit Suisse bullish on emerging economies
Updated 19:04, 23-Nov-2019
CGTN
04:51

Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam has said that it is highly unlikely that the world economy will go into recession and that emerging economies will continue to post strong growth.

"If you look at history, we almost have never had a world recession; the world economy grows," Thiam told CGTN in Beijing on Thursday.

"What happens often is that the developed countries go through a recession. But the emerging economies, with a positive demography and all their opportunities generally continue to grow. They just slow down," he explained. 

"So I am very positive about the emerging world. I think that's gonna continue to grow. But I do believe that some developed economies are facing very heavy challenges."  

Thiam said Credit Suisse has been focusing on emerging markets for a while, especially in Asia where the multinational investment bank and financial services company has seen a good performance for their assets under management. 

"It's going to keep going absolutely, (and we are) very focused on ultra-high net worth (clients)," he said. 

"If you have an entrepreneur, the ideal position is to be his adviser for his business, or also his wealth manager... Asia is a region of entrepreneurs. So it makes sense to have the strategy here. And, all our clients are successful entrepreneurs. We help them when they want to buy a company in Switzerland, or they want to expand in Europe," Thiam said. 

Speaking of China's development, Thiam said he is "so appreciative of China" because he has witnessed the changes here. 

"I don't believe that in the history of mankind, there has been such a transformation achieved peacefully anywhere in the history of the world. And I consider myself very lucky that I was able to see this with my own eyes."

He added, "I have seen Beijing with not many cars, just bicycles," referring to a visit he made in 1984.