Building a Compliance Culture
MNCs need to pay closer attention to China’s anti-bribery laws, despite the fact that these laws are rarely enforced and are unhelpfully vague. At a recent China Management Forum […]
The Big Changes Boosting Global Growth in 1H 2017
Three big changes in 1H’17 are collectively paving a path for world growth to lift to a 6-year high, and prompting regional firms to rethink their business forecasts. The […]
The Transformation of China
Too often the discussion about China focuses on its growth figures when the real story lies in the massive transformation underway across key segments of the economy. Beijing continues to […]
Learning to Embrace WeChat & Weibo
Chinese consumers love ecommerce and mobile commerce in particular. By 2019, one in every three dollars will be spent online in China, the highest in the world. However, at […]
Philippines: the Five-Year Outlook
A solid market for many firms over the last five years, the Philippines presents plenty of risks and a poor operating environment, but also an undeniable, and sustainable, economic vitality. […]
China Embraces Robots in its Race for Productivity
China is embracing robotics with the same intensity that made it a force in high speed rail and renewable energy. China’s vast manufacturing sector is under pressure to automate, and […]
Market Transformation: Strategies for Tapping Asia’s Newest Growth Driver
Asia CEO Forum members recently discussed how innovation and new business models are recasting entire industries and helping companies reach new segments of consumers. Entrepreneurs across Asia have capitalised on […]
China’s Digital Transformation: New Solutions Are on the Horizon
The internet ecosystem that has flourished behind China’s firewall is populated by a mini-universe of consumer applications suited to the cultural and language preferences of Chinese users. At a recent […]
The Rise of Xi Jinping & his OBOR Initiative
How Asia will work from 2018 onwards was partly on show in May at the One Belt, One Road or “OBOR” meeting in Beijing. Chinese media set a new benchmark […]
Moving into China’s New Sweet Spot: The Mid-Market
With China’s mid-range segment growing faster than the upper or lower ends of the markets, a focus on the ‘sweet spot’ of the mid-tier segment – where quality, elevated pricing, […]
Is Digital Marketing in China Replacing the Sales Team?
China’s unique digital environment, combined with its considerable market size and large base of early adopters, present a strong case for giving more autonomy to local marketing teams. The Great […]
Charting Strategy in the New, New China
For years, economic growth has consistently surpassed Chinese government predictions but this time is likely to be different. At a recent China CEO Forum meeting we were joined by […]
The Yuan: A Leaky Balloon
The question on the minds of China CFOs is how much further the yuan will depreciate against the US dollar? After a decade of gains the picture is starkly different […]
Consumers Underpin Asia’s Growth; Policy & Capex Set the Speed Limit
Over recent decades, Asia’s growth has increasingly been defined by domestic demand, particularly from consumers. Consumers now dominate in Asia’s growth outlook, but the story varies enormously by country. Japan […]
A Global Recovery… but Rising Geopolitical Risk in Asia
Many indicators suggest that the global economy entered a broad upturn in the last quarter of 2016. If it runs through mid-2017, it will be the best upturn since global […]
China’s Mixed Outlook
While demographics play a major role in China’s slowdown, so too do policies to rebalance the economy toward growth driven by consumers, services, and higher value-added industries. Rebalancing is essential […]
Asia’s Growth & Riding the Global Recovery
We’ve lifted our global growth forecast for 2017 to reflect a broad global demand recovery, which is particularly notable in the Euro area and quite a few emerging markets outside […]
Going Local to Drive Growth
In the latest edition of CEO Dialogues, we sat down with China CEO Forum member Phyllis Cheung, Chief Executive Officer of McDonald’s China, to talk about the disruptive forces that are […]
Proving Value to Chinese Customers
In the latest edition of CEO Dialogues, Asia CEO Forum member Rebekah Lemm, General Manager Asia Pacific for Intralox, talks about facing off against aggressive local competitors in China. Below is an […]
A Global Leader Adapting to Local Tastes
In the latest edition of CEO Dialogues, we spoke with China CEO Forum member Haiyan Wang, Managing Director of Kellogg China, about success in China and delivering products highly-tuned to local […]
Innovating for China with Local R&D
Increasing foreign investment in local China R&D is a must; however, it must be done carefully and with eyes wide open. This was the conclusion from a recent Asia CEO […]
China’s Millennials Need a Different Kind of Manager
Developing middle management talent for leadership positions has become a major concern – and puzzle – for MNCs. Managers born prior to 1980 grew up in a tumultuous period when […]
China’s Chairmen Need Successors
We have entered a period of generational change among Chinese POEs that raises the risk of doing business with these firms. The Asia CEO Forum took up the issue, with […]
A Race to “Go Local” in China
While many MNCs selling B2B came to China following global clients, today the opportunity is to tap the potential of China’s sophisticated domestic firms and customers. The playbook for going […]
Digital Disruptions Take Hold in Southeast Asia
Transportation, logistics, retail and gaming are just the first industries to be hit by the rush of digital technology that has brought to the fore, fresh, ambitious entrepreneurs seeking to […]
The Key to Asia’s Outlook
The key to Asia’s outlook lies in consumer demand, mostly in the emerging markets of China, ASEAN, and India. One of the most important variables for business planners will be currency […]
WeChat Leads the Way in China’s Digitisation
CEO Forum members recently debated how to keep up with China’s mobile-addicted consumers and how the internet is transforming local business. China boasts a penetration rate of 89% for mobile […]
India’s Outlook: A Case for Optimism
The majority of IMA Asia members now list India among their top three market priorities, with members in the digital, consumer, health, and innovation sectors recording a notable lift in returns. […]
Compliance in China: Getting Easier?
China CEO Forum members report that compliance rules in China are tightening. A drive to lift productivity and the rapid rise of e-commerce is contributing to a better compliance environment […]
Will ASEAN’s Latest Efforts at Integration Succeed?
ASEAN’s great tragedy is that individually most of its 10 member states are interesting, but collectively they deliver little. This is a great shame for a region with as many people as Latin America […]
The Struggle to Sustain Growth in Asia
Asia’s consumers have been central to the region’s capacity to sustain growth through recent years of weak global demand. The cost has been a quick rise in consumer debt, which […]
What Duterte Means for the Philippines & for Business
Regarded as the ‘Donald Trump’ of the Filipino electoral campaign, few commentators believed Rodrigo Duterte was a legitimate contender for the top job. Yet, he won the election by a […]
China’s Abrupt Slowdown
After real growth of 10%pa for the 20 years to 2014, growth will halve to 5%pa for the 2015-20 period and drop to 4% by 2021. The abrupt nature of […]
Who Will Drive Innovation in China?
The Chinese government is looking to accelerate innovation and cutting-edge technology. MNCs in China are being pressured to crack open their IP vaults and partner with local firms on technology designed […]
China Sale Strategy: Is Guanxi a Thing of the Past?
In the past, sales success in China was often driven by who you know, rather than what you know. However, guanxi-style relationships alone are no longer enough. Buyers are focused […]
Should You Be Acquiring Businesses in ASEAN?
Is it time for Southeast Asia to shine? Asia CEO Forum members are asking whether now is the time to acquire businesses in ASEAN. While China’s growth rate is slowing, growth in Vietnam and the Philippines is picking up and Indonesia’s business conditions are improving.
MNCs Respond to Disruptive Competition in China
Competition is coming from surprising sources to disrupt markets in China that foreign multinationals thought were theirs alone. Some Chinese entrepreneurs are using digital technology, consumer insight, and venture financing to leapfrog over MNCs.
Transformational Moves in Southeast Asia
Business transformation is underway in Southeast Asia and will gather speed in the years ahead. While long-standing, country-by-country market strategies are still critical for success in ASEAN, technology is changing […]
Indonesia: A Frontier for Capital Growth
With expanding and diversifying global trade, a young population and rapidly growing ranks of middle-class consumers, Indonesia is an attractive candidate for international companies looking to establish or enlarge their businesses. Indonesia has already come a long way, and between its fast-rising household incomes and extensive natural resources, it is a country that has climbed up the priority lists of many IMA Asia members.
Transforming the Workplace
In the sixth edition of CEO Dialogues, we spoke with Asia CEO Forum member Bernard Yee, AT&T’s Regional Vice President – Asia Pacific, and Greg Brutus, Executive Director, Corporate Communications, Asia Pacific, to discuss how the company has recognised and responded to the rapid shift in how people access information and how changes to their workplace has led to higher productivity and retention of skilled employees.