TRADE MINISTERS HEAD FOR CRITICAL MEETING: Trade Ministers are jetting to Abu Dhabi for next week’s 13th ministerial conference of the WTO. They will confirm the accession of Timor-Leste and debate critical trade issues encompassing topics such as agriculture, fish subsidies, digital trade and dispute resolution. AUSTRALIA TO PUSH NEW FTA: Australia and the UAE are preparing for a 2nd round of negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement. It follows a first round in January. Trade Minister Farrell will…
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US TO INVESTIGATE APPAREL COMPETITIVENESS: The US International Trade Commission is to investigate the export competitiveness of apparel industries in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and Pakistan. A public hearing will be held on March 7. The five economies are key sources of apparel for the US market. AUSTRALIAN TRADE AMBASSADOR COMPLETES TERM: Australia’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organisation, George Mina, has completed his assignment in Geneva. He took up the position in 2020. He previously served…
AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTIVITY UNDER MICRO-TAX THREAT: A Productivity Commission research paper has suggested an increasingly complex and inefficient tax system risks limiting productivity growth. The paper says the number of sector-specific industry levies had grown from 26 to 248 since 1980. SOUTH KOREA & EU LAUNCH DIGITAL TALKS: Negotiators have been meeting in Brussels this week for the first negotiating round for a South Korea-EU Digital Trade Agreement. Meanwhile South Korea and Indonesia have met this week to review the implementation…
An Opportunity to Exclusively Partner with PBEC on publishing this Full Market Report PBEC is pleased to announce its second in-depth report on Global Sourcing and Supply Chain Trends impacting APAC businesses. Building on the success of our highly regarded report, “Charting a Course in Asia Pacific – Regional Trends in Global Sourcing,” our latest research, initiated in May 2023, focuses specifically on Scope 3 emission capture and public disclosures by multinational corporations (MNCs) listed on the top six largest…
David Ching Heng Hoe Chief Executive Officer, Ong & Ong Vietnam David has worked under the auspices of BEP Malaysia, Chartered Architects Malaysia and Chua Ka Seng Singapore. Between 1989 and 1995, he was Jurong Bird Park’s Director of Planning & Development. He has also ventured into China, India and Vietnam. He set up a full-fledged multi-disciplinary firm in Ho Chi Minh City in 2007 and was the main contractor of a 1500-unit social housing development in Danang City. David…
Congratulations to PBEC’s Natalie Chung Sum Yue appointed as the inaugural Museum of Climate Change Scholar (MoCC Scholar) at the Museum of Climate Change at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Exhibition Information Her first Exhibition Title: “Climate Witness: Changing Polar Landscapes”「目擊氣候：變遷中的極地」You are cordially invited to pay a visit before CNY 2024. Curators: Inaugural Museum of Climate Change Scholar Ms. Natalie Chung, Dr. Rebecca Lee, Mr. Wilson Cheung, Museum of Climate Change Team Supporting Organizations: Mission Blue, Ocean Geographic, Polar…
The Pacific Basin Economic Council Chairman Andrew Weir MBE, JP and its Executive Director Michael Walsh share their views on some of the economic and geopolitical trends and observations they have witnessed in 2023. They take stock on a host of issues and look ahead to 2024. Look out for the reference to Social Offsets for leaders and corporations to address the S in ESG more urgently. They cover some of the outcomes from some of the major leader summits…
: White Paper on Emerging Trends in Supply Chain Sustainability – Compliance and Policies – Dec 2023
PBEC has permission to share this white paper from o9 Solutions that seeks to outline existing and emerging regulatory trends at the intersection of supply chain and sustainability, including a range of binding regulations, tax policies, and legislative proposals at international, national, and regional scales. These regulatory developments include mandatory sectoral requirements, product trade bans, product sustainability regulations, non-financial disclosure requirements, and various taxes and rules on plastic pollution that can significantly affect global supply chain sustainability. It must also be highlighted…
PBEC CEO Blog on Vietnam I have just returned to Hong Kong having finished attending and participating at this years Horasis Asia Meeting 2023 held once again in Binh Duong, Vietnam. For those of you who are unaware of this province, Bình Dương covers some 1,000 sq miles in landmass and has a population of over 3.25M according to latest consensus and is considered to be the gateway to Ho Chi Minh City, the economic cultural centre of the country….
A big congratulations to PBEC’s Datuk Adam Yee Hee Hoon on his conferment as Master of Business Administration from the University of the West of Scotland the majority of which was conducted during the pandemic. “ It was a great journey and challenging for me, a self realisation experience. I want to thank all the wonderful lecturers at the University of the West of Scotland who inspired new ways of thinking that I now bring back with me and can…