JPM Trend Tapestry. APAC AI 1

J P M O R G A N Asia Pacific Equity Research 21 August 2026

Trend Tapestry The Fast and the Frugal: Five takeaways from the J.P. Morgan APAC AI implementation survey

J.P. Morgan conducted a survey of APAC corporates under our equity research coverage this summer to assess AI adoption, investment and business impact. 317 companies within our coverage universe filled out our survey, accounting for a market capitalization of US$5.9tn as of 20 August 2026. We highlight five key takeaways below; for more information on the survey, please see page 2: APAC Equity Thematic and • 1 - AI spend is now consensus in APAC and set to accelerate 29% over the Sustainable Investing Research next 12 months, to ~US$250bn.AI funding is growing from 4.5% of expenses Hannah L Lee AC plus capex (last 12 months) to 5.8% (next 12 months), an acceleration of 29%, ( implying ~US$250bn of incremental AI-related investment over the next 12 J.P. Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Limited/ J.P. months in APAC. These findings are directionally consistent with the view that Morgan Broking (Hong Kong) Limited enterprise willingness to fund AI deployment could support a substantially larger pool of AI-related revenue over time. • 2 - Chinese companies are set to outspend regional peers by 38%, but 2026 J.P. Morgan APAC AI Survey Full supply-side constraints are real. Chinese companies are forecast to outspend Results regional peers by 38% in the coming 12 months, with a projected budget of Artificial Intelligence: Asia Pacific Artificial 7.2% of expenses plus capex, supporting the narrative that the domestic AI Intelligence Implementation Survey 2026 ecosystem is optimized for broad real-economy deployment and that China AI is incrementally prioritizing enterprise services. However, supply-side Related Research constraint barriers appear real, which could gate deployment. Asia Pacific Artificial Intelligence • 3 - Labor productivity is the #1 motivating factor for AI investment and Implementation Survey 2026 - Property is where corporates are most confident in outcomes over the next 12 In Focus months. AI benefits are framed primarily around labor productivity, estimated APAC Consumer - AI Survey: Beyond at 4% (last 12 months) rising to 5.8% (next 12 months). Overall, cost reduction adoption, focus shifts to value capture screens as secondary for now, which implies that near-term benefits may be competed away or reinvested, rather than dropping cleanly into margins. • 4 - Most firms expect roles to be enhanced, not replaced, by AI in the near term, with only 20% forecasting a slight decrease (-1% to -5%) in overall employment over the next 12 months. The impact of AI on employment outcomes remains muted for now. However, our survey shows a strong overlap between roles/tasks that could be “enhanced” or “replaced” by AI, of which IT, customer service, and finance and accounting top the list. This provides an important clue to inform the longer-term debate on the impact of AI on the job market. • 5 - There is a clear optimism gap in terms of how firms think AI will benefit them vs. their industry; overall optimism around AI as an opportunity set is highest in South Korea, while concern is strongest in ASEAN & India. Respondents are more bullish on the impact of AI on their own profitability vs. the industry profit pool, with a 12ppt optimism gap between the two measures. This points to a potential AI capability arms race, which could keep AI budgets elevated even if industry economics do not expand in parallel. Overall, AI sentiment is broadly positive across APAC. Korean corporates are the most optimistic, while respondents in ASEAN & India express the highest level of concern.

See page 10 for analyst certification and important disclosures, including non-US analyst disclosures.

Hannah L Lee AC Asia Pacific Equity Research ( August 2026 JPMORGAN

About the J.P. Morgan Artificial Intelligence Implementation Survey 2026 J.P. Morgan undertook a survey of APAC corporates under equity research • Who participated? 317 companies participated in the J.P. Morgan 2026 APAC AI coverage between late May and mid-July Implementation Survey, representing US$5.9tn in market…