What happens to markets after a bubble pops?

The recent stock market and property busts have certainly been nasty for the likes of China, Vietnam and India. And plenty of people have lost a lot of money. But, for many Asian economies, a Japan-style slump is not on the cards. Cris Sholto Heaton explains why.

This article is from MoneyWeek Asia, a FREE weekly email of investment ideas and news every Monday from MoneyWeek magazine, covering the world's fastest-developing and most exciting region. Sign up to MoneyWeek Asia here .

Bubbles are great when they're inflating. The money flows freely, everyone is getting richer by the day and work takes second place to partying. Anyone who was in Tokyo in 1989, Southeast Asia in 1996, or a tech start-up in 1999 knows the feeling well.

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MarketClose5-day change
China (CSI 300)1829-4.7%
Hong Kong (Hang Seng)13888+9.7%
India (sensex)9093+2.0%
Indonesia (JCI)1242+8.3%
Japan (Topix)835+6.7%
Malaysia (KLCI)866-0.1%
Philippines(PSEi)1972+11.6%
Singapore (Straits Times)1733+4.2%
South Korea (KOSPI)1076+7.2%
Taiwan (Taiex)4460+6.9%
Thailand (SET)402+1.1%
Vietnam (VN Index)315-1.3%
MSCI Asia75+4.3%
MSCI Asia ex-Japan259+6.5%
Cris Sholto Heaton

Cris Sholto Heaton is an investment analyst and writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2006 and was managing editor of the magazine between 2016 and 2018. He is especially interested in international investing, believing many investors still focus too much on their home markets and that it pays to take advantage of all the opportunities the world offers. He often writes about Asian equities, international income and global asset allocation.

Cris began his career in financial services consultancy at PwC and Lane Clark & Peacock, before an abrupt change of direction into oil, gas and energy at Petroleum Economist and Platts and subsequently into investment research and writing. In addition to his articles for MoneyWeek, he also works with a number of asset managers, consultancies and financial information providers.

He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Investment Management Certificate, as well as degrees in finance and mathematics. He has also studied acting, film-making and photography, and strongly suspects that an awareness of what makes a compelling story is just as important for understanding markets as any amount of qualifications.