From left: Jonathan Gray, president and chief operating officer of Blackstone, Ron O’Hanley, chief executive officer of State Street Corporation, Ted Pick, chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley, and Mark Mark, chief executive officer of Apollo Global Management. Rowan LLC and Goldman Sachs Group CEO David Solomon at the Global Financial Leaders Investment Summit in Hong Kong, China, Tuesday, November 19, 2024.
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Apollo Global Management CEO Mark Rowan said at the Global Financial Leaders Investment Summit in Hong Kong that America’s “industrial renaissance” is stimulating demand for capital. Ta.
“There is a huge demand for capital; [including through debt and equity] …What’s happening is nothing short of extraordinary,” Rowan said during a panel discussion Tuesday.
This demand is being fueled by massive government spending, particularly on infrastructure, the semiconductor industry, and projects under the Inflation Control Act, according to President-elect Donald Trump, who is reportedly running for the post of Treasury secretary. said the asset management company.
“What we’re looking at is this incredible demand for capital against the backdrop of a U.S. government running huge deficits. So the business of raising capital is going to be good business. I think so,” he said.
Industrial policies such as the CHIPS and Science Act and the Infrastructure Act of 2021 require billions of dollars in spending.
Rowan added that the United States has been the largest recipient of foreign direct investment for the past three years and is expected to maintain its top spot this year.
Rowan and other panelists also identified energy and data centers for artificial intelligence and digitalization as growth areas that will require more capital.
Jonathan Gray, Blackstone’s president and chief operating officer, told a panel that data centers are a top topic across the company, and that they employ billions of people to develop data centers. spoke.
“We are doing this with equity, we are also raising capital… This is an area that we really like and we will do everything we can in relation to digital infrastructure.”
Financing and M&A recovery
Other panelists at the summit, hosted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said the capital raise was well positioned to recover from the recent economic downturn.
Capital raising activity reached peak levels in 2020 and 2021 amid massive coronavirus-era economic stimulus, according to Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon. But then it slowed amid the Ukraine war, inflationary pressures and tighter regulations from the Federal Trade Commission.
Solomon said there has been an uptick in activity recently with hopes that the situation will normalize and the FTC’s restrictions on entering into deals will be eased under the incoming Donald Trump administration.
Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick said that although the current environment still faces inflationary and other risks, consumers and the business community are in “generally good shape” as the economy continues to grow. He said that there is.
“It’s been a great environment for someone who works in capital allocation,” he said, adding that the group is now preparing to enter “capital raising mode.”
“it is [the] “This is the hallmark of a growing and prosperous economy, and is where classic underwriting and mergers and acquisitions businesses are here to stay,” he said.
Solomon predicted that these trends will lead to “more robust” capital raising and M&A activity in 2025.
