Our Focus Areas

June 18, 2020

North Korea’s Strategy to Grab Attention with Explosive Displays

It is unfortunate that North Korea plays with foreign relations–and Korean lives–as if it were just another mass-game spectacle. By Asia Business Council Executive Director Mark Clifford.

June 7, 2020

After the COVID-19 Panic: Three Lessons for Business

The panic is past. But the pandemic is still with us. Businesses are preparing for a world in which the Covid-19 virus and other pandemic diseases are a recurring feature. What will this new landscape look like? By Asia Business Council Executive Director Mark Clifford.

June 16, 2020

Asia’s renewable energy push is a bright spot amid coronavirus gloom

With solar and wind power now cheaper than coal and technical problems such as intermittency being solved, investing in renewable energy makes economic sense. By Asia Business Council Adjunct Fellow Jill Baker.

May 20, 2020

The View: In a post-pandemic economy, Asian businesses will think smaller and safer, with worrying implications for many workers

Asia’s business leaders now start almost every discussion by talking about digital transformation. Human labour is a business risk, given the possibility of a future outbreak. Factories may become more automated, with fewer workers. By Program Associate Colleen Howe.

May 13, 2020

Tesla’s Newest Board Member Talks About Changing The World Through Japan’s $1.5 Trillion Pension Fund

Hiro Mizuno rocked the world of traditional pension finance by putting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) at the heart of investments during his tenure as head of the world’s largest pension fund. Adjunct Fellow Jill Baker spoke with Mizuno about his crusade for ESG investing in his first interview since leaving Japan’s Global Pension Investment

April 30, 2020

COVID-19: What can Israel learn from Asia’s 4 ‘tigers’?

South Korea has tested a larger percentage of its citizens for COVID-19 than any nation on Earth. Densely packed Hong Kong, despite its proximity to the rest of China, has seen only four novel coronavirus deaths to date. Singapore, long-known for its focus on cleanliness and its police-state mentality, had been doing an exemplary job

April 27, 2020

Navigating a new norm: Lessons from the Asian Tigers

Executive Director Mark Clifford spoke during an April 27 webinar on what Israel can learn from the Asian response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

April 14, 2020

The View: In the battle against the coronavirus, Japan and the four ‘tiger economies’ offer the world a new ‘Asian miracle’

The relatively low infection and death rates in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan are a testament to investment in public health infrastructure, transparency and societies that prioritize group interests. By Executive Director Mark Clifford.

March 18, 2020

The View: The coronavirus epidemic is a warning for Hong Kong, and others, to prepare for the reality of an ageing world

Because the coronavirus disproportionately affects people over 65, health care systems in countries with large elderly populations are struggling. The pandemic should prompt governments to consider how policies such as social distancing affect the elderly. By Program Associate Colleen Howe.

February 19, 2020

The View: The coronavirus was no black swan. Hong Kong and China just weren’t ready for a crisis

Lessons that should have been learned after the harrowing Sars experience were not: diseases like Covid-19 will happen from time to time in a hyper-connected world, and the trust and transparency that will fortify a society’s response to such a crisis is lacking. By Executive Director Mark Clifford.