China and India are witnessing a decline in market-cap concentration among their largest listed firms as the AI-driven rally continues to favor tech-heavy markets such as Taiwan and South Korea.
China and India have emerged as key Asian markets where the top listed companies now account for a smaller share of total market capitalization, showing their relative delay in the global artificial intelligence-led market rally.
According to Economic Times, In both China and India, the top 10 companies now account for around 19% of total market capitalization, down from 26% and 22%, respectively, a year ago, according to Bloomberg data. Hong Kong remains the least concentrated market, with big-company concentration slipping to 9.8% from 10%.
AI-heavy markets such as Taiwan and South Korea have seen market concentration increase sharply, driven by strong gains in semiconductor and AI-linked stocks. Taiwan’s benchmark index has climbed 54% this year, largely led by chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. South Korea’s Kospi has also surged, powered by memory leaders SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.
“Asia’s concentration story is split,” said Charu Chanana, Chief Investment Strategist at Saxo Markets. “In tech-heavy markets, AI and memory winners are driving index concentration higher. But in India, China and Hong Kong, concentration is falling because there is no single dominant AI winner.”
In India, the Nifty 50 is down about 8% this year, with heavyweight sectors such as banking, energy and IT yet to fully benefit from the AI boom.
