Australia could become a financing powerhouse by lending a portion of its $3.9 trillion retirement savings pool to businesses in the fast-growing Asian region, says Michael Milken, an American billionaire and philanthropist best known for pioneering the junk bond craze of the 1980s.

“Australia is on the brink, and it could be a leader in not only financing Australian businesses, but large parts of Asian [businesses] that come to Australia to be financed, and superannuation funds and pension funds could be key,” he told a superannuation roundtable hosted by Visy’s Anthony Pratt and The Australian Financial Review in Sydney on Tuesday.