When the Vietnam war put paid to Khiem Do's youthful ambitions to be a diplomat for his country, the world of finance beckoned.
Mr Do was born into a large, traditional Vietnamese family that fled south to the hill town of Da Lat in order to escape from the war between the communists and the French. Leaving behind a vast family fortune, his father took up a new calling as a cartographer and drew maps by hand for the government.
'We started from zero, and with eight children, it became a big burden,' said Mr Do, who turns 55 this month. 'But my father thought if we were well-educated, then we have a chance.'
After studying at a French lycee in Da Lat, Mr Do moved to Australia on scholarship where he completed an honours degree in 1977 in economics and finance. Unable to return to Vietnam because of the war, he was granted political asylum and worked in Australia for nearly two decades in investment management.
He landed in Hong Kong in 1996 and has since worked with Baring Asset Management in different capacities, including his current role as head of Asian multi-asset investment. Mr Do describes the current downturn as 'quite unprecedented', but says Asian markets may find some support since last year's sell-off in the region was driven more by sentiment than fundamentals.
Asian banking systems have fared comparatively better than their western peers and countries around the region have been able to flex their monetary policies to meet the current crisis. 'As far as Asian stock markets are concerned we are closer to the absolute bottom,' he said.
'Our markets are considered as being more peripheral, so overseas investors bailed out in October and November last year in a big way.'