Dear Friends & Colleagues,
Our newsletter and online blog are dedicated to covering the latest economic developments in the Asia Pacific region, with a particular focus on foreign direct investment (FDI), trade, and their impact on the related communities. We strive to provide in-depth analysis and insights on the economic trends shaping the region, and we aim to bridge the information gap for professionals and stakeholders who need to make informed decisions in today's fast-paced business environment. We welcome your feedback and contributions as we work to foster a more informed and engaged community of Asia Pacific economic stakeholders.
HEADLINES: ChatGPT And What It Means For Trade | How Effective Are FDI Incentives? | Cambodia To Tap FDI Growth | Malaysia To Innovate Chip Sector | Singapore Worlds Best Business Environment | US FDI Incentives Dwarf Rivals | Greening Emerging Markets With FDI | Indonesia-Singapore $50Billion Green Corridor | UK Joins CPTPP – Why? | Kearney FDI Confidence Index – Cautiously Optimistic! | Indonesia Bags $4.5Billion EV Deal With Ford | Malaysia Secures $40Billion FDI From China & Much Much More.....
Business leaders show signs of confidence in the investment outlook and the prospects for globalization. Asia Pacific grows in attractiveness to foreign investors.
NEWS: Our summary of the top stories for the economic development, FDI, trade & investment community in Asia Pacific
As 2022 came to a close, ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot, became the fastest-growing app in history, reaching an estimated 123 million users less than three months after its launch. It is the most prominent specimen of AI-tools that generate content such as text, pictures, and software code. ITC reflects on what this could mean for the international trade development sphere.
Pacific Islands: Brain Drain: Small Islands & Sub-Saharan Africa Hit Hardest By Human Displacement Half of the 10 countries hit hardest by the outflow of skilled and educated people last year were small island developing states, according to fDi’s analysis of data for 179 countries.
Cambodia To Tap FDI Next For Economic Growth For the country to develop and promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth and raise the standard of living of Cambodians, Cambodia needs to set specific goals and action plans to maximize the benefits of FDI.
How Is Southeast Asia Dealing With Changing Trade Dynamics? Can countries in the region remain fence-sitters, and if so for how long?
Malaysia, a key node in the global semiconductor supply chain, supplies an estimated 13 percent of demand for packaging and testing. With increasing competition from countries like Vietnam, Malaysia should ‘double down’ on its advantage to stay ahead, say analysts and insiders.
Singapore has retained its position as the best business environment, according to EIU’s latest business environment rankings for the second quarter of 2023. Canada and Denmark, with tied scores, follow closely behind, largely supported by strong levels of economic and political stability. Several west European countries plus the US, Hong Kong, and New Zealand make up the remaining top 10 geographies.
Foreign and domestic companies have been granted increasing numbers of higher value incentive deals for investments in the US than any other country worldwide, $54.4bn worth of incentives — over six times that of the $8.14bn granted by second-placed Canada
Indonesia To Attract $50Billion FDI Through Green Corridor With Singapore - According to the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS), the Green Corridor plan is to develop a green manufacturing industry, creating "tens of thousands" of green jobs for Indonesians and transferring renewable energy knowledge and skills into Indonesia.
Welfare Loss And Incentives-Based FDI Competition - Just how effective are incentives when it comes to attracting FDI and what downsides are associated with this form of investment attraction?
CPTPP: UK Agrees To Join Asia's Trade Club But What Is It? - The UK has signed a deal to join a trade pact with several countries in Asia and the Pacific, including Japan and Australia. The name of this pact - CPTPP - is an unwieldy mouthful, but it's also a new club of 500 million people the UK will be able to access. So what does it mean for the fortunes of businesses and households?
Indonesia FDI: Ford In $4.5 Billion Deal For EV Battery Materials Plant - U.S. carmaker Ford has joined PT Vale Indonesia and China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt’s as their new partner in a $4.5 billion nickel processing plant in Indonesia.
The amount, the biggest so far from China, is from a total of 19 memoranda of understanding (MoU) sealed between businesses in China and Malaysia.
China kicked off a yearlong campaign this month, themed "Invest in China," a strong move to attract foreign investment and help foreign companies better understand China's opportunities, as the world's second-largest economy pursues wider opening-up amid rising external uncertainties.
Human Capital Flows Drive Global Trade: Superpower Rivalry Heats Up Global Race For Human Capital - From rural Australia to Silicon Valley, the rising dependence of knowledge-intensive global trade spurring a great-power competition for human capital. China is vying to draw global talent as part of Xi Jinping's strategic development blueprint. But whether the West can ultimately maintain its competitive edge will depend far more on domestic politics and policy in its economies, than what's happening in Beijing.
Long-term losses of 2 percent of global output due to shifting foreign direct investments underscore why global integration needs robust defense
RESOURCES & REPORTS: Our monthly summary of the key resources and reports that matter – follow the links to download for free.
2022 was another historic year for EVs, with annual production surpassing 10 million cars for the first time ever. This represents a sizable bump up from 2021’s figure of 6.7 million. In this infographic, we’ve used data from EV Volumes to visualize the top 15 brands by output.
COP27 highlighted the many complexities of mobilizing the trillions of dollars needed for climate adaptation and mitigation in developing countries, which have contributed the least to global warming but are suffering the most from it. Meeting this need will require innovative mechanisms and multiple types of capital, some of it public but most of it private.
This paper looks at the potential for a silver dividend for economic growth in aging societies as people live and work longer. It examines data from both high- and lower-income economies.
As businesses assess their operational capacity needs for a predicted bumpy recovery, to recalibrate during and post-pandemic, it is crucial to understand what brought us to this point and where it is likely leading us.
Regional economic integration has been advancing in Asia, according to the latest report, In 2021, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 45 percent of global FDI inflows, reaching a record high of over $710 billion, according to the report.
KW Group is an independent consultancy that specializes in economic development, FDI, trade, investment, and market access. Since 2010, the company has been serving clients in both the public and private sectors, with a strong focus on the Asia-Pacific region and headquarters in Malaysia. KW Group's expertise spans across several areas including economic development, investment promotion, trade, policy, research, strategy, capacity building, and market access. Feel free to reach out for details andrewk@kwconfex.com
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Warm Regards, Andrew Keable
Managing Partner, KW Group, Regional Advisor Asia Pacific, World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA)
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