Geopolitical reconfiguration is accelerating corporate relocation across Asia. We map the investment corridors, the winning sectors, and the advisory opportunities this creates for investment bankers.
The China+1 strategy, once a theoretical exercise in supply-chain diversification, has become an operational imperative for multinational corporations. Over the past two years, FDI into India, Vietnam, and Indonesia has accelerated dramatically. India alone attracted $90 billion in FDI in FY2026, a 22% increase over the previous year. The share of manufacturing in total FDI has risen from 27% to 38% — a structural shift in the composition of foreign capital.
The capital flows are not random. Electronics and semiconductors are flowing into India and Vietnam. Automotive supply chains are migrating to Thailand and Indonesia. Textiles and footwear are consolidating in Bangladesh and Cambodia. Each corridor has its own logic, its own set of investors, and its own advisory requirements.
India's competitive position
India occupies a unique position in the China+1 landscape. It offers the combination of a large domestic market, a skilled English-speaking workforce, improving infrastructure, and a regulatory environment that is becoming more predictable. The PLI schemes have been instrumental — they de-risk the capital commitment by providing guaranteed returns on production.
Chart.js visualization placeholder: China+1 FDI flows by destination (2024-2026) bar chart. India leads at $90B in FY2026, followed by Vietnam at $42B and Indonesia at $35B. The chart also shows sectoral breakdown: electronics 35%, automotive 22%, pharmaceuticals 18%, textiles 12%, others 13%.
The advisory opportunity
The China+1 trend creates a multi-layered advisory opportunity. First, companies entering India need market-entry advisory — regulatory navigation, joint-venture structuring, and local partner identification. Second, companies expanding existing India operations need capital-raising advisory — debt, equity, and structured instruments to fund capacity expansion. Third, companies consolidating their Asia footprint need M&A advisory — acquisitions of complementary businesses across jurisdictions.
The China+1 story is not just about where capital flows — it is about which companies and countries are best positioned to capture it. India's competitive advantage is its domestic market. Every multinational that comes to India for export production also discovers its domestic consumption opportunity.