6 reasons why a Donald Trump presidency would be beneficial for founders in Asia

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past several months, you’re well aware of the fact that billionaire tycoon Donald Trump is in prime position to be named the Republican Party’s candidate for the upcoming US presidential elections.

After remaining rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich pulled out of the nomination race recently, the path is clear for Trump to be installed as his party’s nominee.

Trump, a divisive and polarizing figure, has shocked most political observers with his firebrand rhetoric. He’s promised to make Mexico pay for a border wall to “stop rapists” from entering the US illegally. He’s also doubled down on his position to completely bar Muslim non-citizens from traveling to America.

China and Japan haven’t escaped his wrath either – Trump’s vowed to address a worsening trade deficit by introducing some radical policies, such as declaring China a “currency manipulator” and renegotiating the terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

While early polls suggest Hillary Clinton, the likely candidate from the Democratic Party, holds a substantial lead over Trump, don’t count him out just yet. He’s survived onslaughts from his own party and gotten to a position that most didn’t think possible. I’d say there’s more than a fair chance of him walking into the White House next year.

In the case that Donald J Trump does become president of the United States, there’s certainly going to be massive upheaval as his policies go into effect. But it also represents business opportunities which Asian founders, if they’re nimble enough, can leverage to their advantage.

Here are, in no particular order, six of them.

1. Border wall raw materials

One of the many steel shipments Donald will need. Photo Credit: Portland Bolt .

While Trump has claimed his purported 2,000-mile long border wall with Mexico will cost around US$8 billion, experts have estimated the cost to be in the range of US$25-30 billion. And the two main raw materials required for the construction of this monstrosity are concrete and steel.

Well, guess what? China leads the world when it comes to both steel and concrete production. Trump may want to procure these raw materials locally, to drum up his spiel on promoting local jobs, but the United States lags far behind in production capacity. And setting up a steel plant isn’t something done in a jiffy.

The cheapest way for the Donald’s administration to buy these products would be through an open online marketplace. What we’re talking about here is a multi-billion dollar opportunity for the likes of Zhaogang and others to benefit.