Author: PBEC’s Accounting & Tax subject matter experts ICAEW Insights The rapid growth of generative AI (Gen-AI) platforms, which are enabling millions of everyday people to use AI in creative ways, has taken the world by storm. In the coming years, these tools are likely to be used increasingly by us all. But with that widespread use of sophisticated technology comes a number of ethical hurdles – some of which will be examined on 4 October at ICAEW’s 2024 Annual…
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Project Rake uses the Surf Rake, a beach cleaning machine capable of picking up and holding 3,500 pounds of marine debris. It moves across the sand, leaving behind fine sand and a cleaner beach. The Memorandum of Understanding outlines how Aboitiz Land lends the Surf Rake to neighboring communities, eliminating the need for hand labor and saving time and money, making it a cost-efficient solution. The Surf Rake is reliable, easy to use, maintain, and environmentally friendly, making it the…
The listed holding company, with interests in power, banking, food and infrastructure, is more than doubling its capital spending in 2024 to 153 billion pesos ($2.6 billion). About half will be used to build a solar power plant and a wind farm while roughly a quarter will go to AEV’s headline-grabbing $1.8 billion acquisition of Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines in partnership with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, completed in February. AEV will also break ground on a fourth industrial estate. AEV’s banking unit,…
CityUHK launched the HK Tech 300 SEA Competition in Kuala Lumpur in May 2023. Its aim is to support Southeast Asian start-ups to expand their business to Hong Kong and the mainland, help Hong Kong start-ups explore opportunities in SEA, and attract overseas tech talent to the city. Over 100 start-ups, joined the competition through the partnering universities and incubators in the region. Presiding over the Award Ceremony were Professor Sun Dong, JP, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of…
PBEC’s subject matter expert Ben Simpfendorfer of Oliver Wyman spoke to China Daily journalists Ouyang Shijia and Ma Qing “The foundations are there for recovery.” While China’s growth target of around 5 percent for this year seems challenging, Simpfendorfer said he believes the goal is “still achievable if the real estate sector begins to stabilize”. Dismissing the speculation that China’s economy is showing signs of peaking, he said the “long-term growth prospects still look very good”. “China hasn’t peaked. It’s…
Author: Kati Suominen is a Research Fellow at the Hinrich Foundation a PBEC Corporate Member and partner Foundation – July 2024 Created in 2022, the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, or IPEF, was the Biden administration’s response to the Trump Administration’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The IPEF is non-binding and fails to deliver any market access, such as lowering tariffs and non-tariff barriers like subsidies and import quotas. It also does not meaningfully address digital trade rules. In…
Author: PBEC’s Hinrich Foundation Yuqing Xing a Professor of Economics of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo By 2022 Japanese foreign direct investment in China had reached US$127.6 billion, the largest among Asian countries. Many Japanese multinational enterprises used the country as an export platform for the US market. The 25% punitive tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese exports and the possibility of escalation in the trade war raised the costs and uncertainty of operating…
Invitation to register for online webinar: On the 3 July 2024 at 10AM UK / 4PM Vietnam/Thailand / 5PM Hong Kong/Malaysia/Singapore & Philippines time, PBEC’s Vina Capital will host its Mid-Year Vietnam Economy & Market Review & Outlook Webinar. PBEC’s Michael Kokalari, Chief Economist, and Linh Vu, Head of Research, will review macroeconomic and stock market performance in H1 2024 and share their outlooks for the remainder of the year. After their remarks, a Q&A session from the audience will…
The Pacific Basin Economic Council is hosting a round table dialogue with experts involved in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. We are joined also by The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) members who are appointed by APEC’s 21 member economies to represent business interests in the Asia-Pacific region. The dialogue will feature ABAC representatives from Australia, Hong Kong, and the Philippines, as well as the APEC- Asia Pacific Economic Council Int’l Secretariat Executive Director. PBEC’s Chair, Andrew Weir MBE…
Despite the uncertainty about what lies ahead for global trade, there are still reasons for optimism about its resilience and its enduring role as a catalyst for positive change, and these are encapsulated in the current trends that are shaping the landscape. As 2024 Q2 draws to a close, economies in Asia Pacific are facing what is projected to be a modest slowdown to approximately between 3.5% to 4.2% on average according to the IMF. But this paints over some…