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Melting Himalayan glaciers threaten 1.3 billion Asians: experts
Over 1.3 billion people in Pakistan, India, China, Nepal and Bhutan depend on Himalayan glaciers for water, but experts say they are melting quickly, which may threaten much of the region with drought. The announcement comes as leaders gather for the Copenhagen climate change summit to discuss strategies for combating climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate [...] -
UPDATE 2: Four killed in Thai south ahead of Thai, Malay PMs’ visit
UPDATE2 (Dec. 9): Unknown gunmen killed two soldiers in an ambush in Narathiwat on Dec. 8, in addition to the two killed in the market the day before. Malaysia and Thailand’s Prime Ministers are still set to meet this afternoon. —– UPDATE (Dec. 8): Just days before Malaysian and Thai leaders are set to tour Thailand’s unstable [...] -
US envoy to visit Pyongyang on Asia-Russia tour
AFP reports that US envoy Stephen Bosworth will visit Pyongyang next week at the start of an Asia-Russia tour aimed at bringing North Korea back to nuclear disarmament negotiations, officials said Thursday. Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, said Bosworth will arrive in the North Korean capital on Tuesday before traveling to Seoul on December 10, [...] -
Malaysia urges focus on South China Sea piracy
KUALA LUMPUR: Pirates attacks in the South China Sea are increasing and Malaysia has urged the bordering nations to work together to fight the threat, reports said Monday. “Piracy there is not conventional any more. Pirates feel that the countries don’t patrol the sea enough,” Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi was quoted as saying by the New [...] -
Indonesia to drop charges against anti-graft officials
JAKARTA – Indonesia’s attorney general will drop allegedly bogus charges against two senior anti-graft investigators at the centre of a bitter feud with police, an official said Monday. The culmination of a scandal that has gripped the nation for months is expected Tuesday when a Jakarta court is scheduled to approve an order to terminate the [...] -
EU urges China to show leadership on climate change
NANJING, China: The EU said Monday cataclysmic climate change cannot be averted without Chinese leadership, as the two sides wrapped up a summit with China defending its efforts against global warming. “We cannot solve the climate challenge to mankind without China taking on leadership and responsibility,” Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said in his capacity as [...] -
Seoul not optimistic on US-North Korea talks
SEOUL: South Korea sees prospects for a US-North Korean meeting next month as “dark” because Pyongyang has yet to promise to return to six-party nuclear disarmament talks, a news report said Sunday. Stephen Bosworth, US special representative for North Korean policy, is scheduled to visit the communist state on December 8 with an aim to persuading [...] -
Malaysia: state probes huge graft claims
KUALA LUMPUR : A Malaysian state government is probing investigators’ claims that up to 60 per cent of infrastructure funds possibly amounting to billions of dollars have been siphoned off, a report said on Sunday. The deputy chief minister of Sarawak state on the resource-rich island of Borneo, George Chan, said his government would look into [...] -
India: India, US sign clean tech deal
The US and India have signed a deal in Washington, DC aimed at promoting the development of green technology. The deal comes in the runup to the UN conference on climate change scheduled for Copenhagen for December 7-18. The details of the entire proposal have yet to be released. Clinton said only that India and the [...] -
Thailand: Thaksin supporters call off protest
Thai supporters of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra called off protests due to start this weekend after Thaksin said the protests would occur too close to the King’s birthday. The red-shirted protestors were to rally in favor of current PM Abhisit Vejjajiva’s resignation. The Thai stock market rebounded 2.88% on the news. PM Abhisit said that the [...] -
Vietnam: first nuclear power plants approved
Vitenam’s parliament has approved a plan to build the country’s first nuclear power stations. The decision has been keenly watched by many, including foreign partners who have shown interest in participating (Japan, China, France, Russia, and to a lesser extent the US and South Korea) and by critics, who argue that Vietnam lacks workers qualified to [...] -
Philippines: gunmen arrested
MANILA – Several gunmen linked to a powerful Philippine politician were arrested Thursday over the election-related massacre of at least 57 people, the country’s police chief said. “We don’t have an exact number (of those arrested), but our policemen in the area have arrested several,” national police Director General Jesus Verzosa said on DZBB radio. He identified [...] -
South Korea to double aid to Africa by 2012
SEOUL: South Korea on Tuesday agreed to double its development aid to Africa in the next three years to help the continent fight poverty and grow sustainably, Seoul officials said. South Korea’s overseas development assistance to Africa will increase two-fold by 2012 from last year’s US$107 million, they said. The accord was announced when South Korea and [...] -
Philippines: Emergency declared as massacre toll hits 46
SANIAG, Philippines: The Philippines declared a state of emergency in parts of the volatile south on Tuesday as anger spiralled over a savage political massacre that left at least 46 people dead. Police on Mindanao island pulled bullet-riddled bodies from shallow graves after gunmen allegedly hired by a local political chief abducted and shot dead a [...] -
Philippines: 24 killed in election massacre
MANILA, Philippines — Gunmen ambushed a caravan of political supporters and journalists on their way to file election papers, killing at least 24 people in a massacre considered shocking even for a region notorious for violence between rival clans. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said at least 10 local reporters were part of [...] -
China, Japan, South Korea sign memorandum on food safety
TOKYO: Health ministers from Japan, China and South Korea agreed on Monday to step up efforts to ensure food safety following concerns over pesticide-tainted Chinese dumplings. Japanese Health Minister Akira Nagatsuma, his Chinese counterpart Chen Zhu and South Korean health chief Jeon Jae-Hee signed their first joint memorandum on food safety after a meeting in Tokyo, [...] -
Vietnam, China agree to further boost economic cooperation
Vietnam and China agreed in Hanoi on Friday to further strengthen the cooperation in the economic corridor involving China’s Yunnan province and four Vietnamese localities of Hanoi, Lao Cai, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh. The agreement was made in the minutes signed by the involved parties at the wrapping up of the fifth conference on Vietnam-China [...] -
ASEAN chief presses for bloc’s centrality
JAKARTA: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must remain at the core of regional affairs despite competing visions for a new Asia-Pacific diplomatic framework, the bloc’s chief said Friday. ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said the “plethora of regional architectures that has been proposed in recent times” suggested that the 10-nation bloc no longer had a [...] -
US, China stress cooperation on world issues, broach divides
BEIJING: US President Barack Obama and China’s Hu Jintao Tuesday pledged to apply their joint political might to the world’s toughest problems, but friction was evident on Tibet, economics and Iran. In solemn talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the high point of Obama’s debut visit to China, the leaders ploughed through [...] -
China: Censorship Limits Obama’s Charm Offensive
The Wall Street Journal reports on how US President Obama has had limited public and media exposure on his trip to China. This comes at a stark contrast to the huge public audiences that have gathered for his visits to countries in Europe and elsewhere. Click here for the full article Source: Ian Johnson and Jonathan Weisman, [...] -
US, Vietnam throw support behind Trans-Pacific Partnership
SINGAPORE: Two APEC economies – the US and Vietnam – have committed to work towards a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) goal. This came a day after Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong revealed at the APEC CEO Summit on Friday that four more economies have expressed interest to join the TPP – a free trade agreement between [...] -
Second US-ASEAN Summit likely
UNITED States President Barack Obama has said that he would like to meet all 10 Asean leaders again next year, after participating in yesterday’s first Asean-US Leaders meeting, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Speaking at a media conference yesterday after the weeklong Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Leaders’ Week, Mr Lee said that Mr Obama is [...] -
APEC to mull over membership list
SINGAPORE: The Asia-Pacific’s top economic club faces intense debate about who else can join its ranks, with India among the nations knocking at the door when a moratorium on new entrants expires next year. Japan, the 2010 summit host for the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, is not looking forward to bearing the burden of [...] -
Obama meets leaders of Asean, Myanmar to counter China’s clout
Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama spent 90 minutes at the same table as Myanmar’s junta-installed Prime Minister Thein Sein and other Southeast Asian leaders as part of U.S. efforts to counter China’s influence in the region. Obama, on his inaugural trip to Asia as president, yesterday became the first U.S. leader to meet the [...] -
Executive Summary: Key Points from APEC CEO Summit 2009
Over 1200 participants were attracted to the APEC CEO Summit 2009. The program featured 18 sessions and 7 keynote speeches by several APEC leaders, panel discussions and a dialogue with Singapore's Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew. In addition to question and answer sessions, an interactive vote was held among participants on a number of key questions. Summaries of each session have been published on the conference website, AsiaPacVoices.com. This is a summary of key points across different panels and some of the take aways for business leaders. -
Session 18: Ensuring APEC’s Continued Relevance
A Keynote Address by HE Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Japan’s priorities for APEC as Japan assumes the Chair of APEC in 2010 How can APEC evolve in order to ensure its continued relevance? In a world filled with nascent regional forms and competing institutional suggestions, this question will be an essential one, especially over the next three years with Japan hosting in 2010 and the United States in 2011. As the financial crisis has brought about a change in the world economic model and the future role of APEC needs to be identified, The Prime Minister emphasised that APEC must seek new values. As the growth centre of the world, APEC has the responsibility to design a new economic model. This is especially pressing with the industrialised APEC countries set to complete the Bogor goals in 2010. -
Session 17: The Shape of Things to Come
This panel moderated by Professor Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan yew school of Public Policy, featured six leaders positing their notions of what the shape of the future would be. “The Shape of Things to Come” featured Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of Community Development, Youth and Sports of Singaopre; Mr. Gary Locke, Secretary of Commerce of the United States of America, Mr. Peter Loescher, President and CEO of Siemens AG; Mr. Anand G mahindra, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra, Mr. Stephen S. Roach, Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, and Mr. Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of Exxonmobil Corporation. -
Session 16: The Role of Sovereign Wealth Funds in Re-Building The Global Economy
The moderator for the session, Mr Heng Swee Keat, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore, opened the dialogue by giving a brief overview of the history of sovereign wealth funds. The term “Sovereign Wealth Fund” (SWF) was coined recently in 2005, even though SWFs have had a much longer history. In fact, the first fund was set up in Kuwait in 1953, and Singapore’s GIC has been around for over 28 years. Recently, SWFs came into the limelight with high-profile deals that were blocked on security grounds, and amidst concerns of the risk posed by SWFs to the financial stability of recipient countries. These concerns became elevated when China, Russia and the Gulf countries became significant players in SWFs. -
Session 15: What is the Next Big Thing?
In a lunchtime conversation on innovation that featured Ms. Deborah Henretta, Group President for Asia of Procter & Gamble; Mr. Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer for Microsoft Corporation; and Mr. Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of Rakuten Inc, Japan’s biggest online shopping mall operator, APEC Summit delegates were given a preview of some of the newest sources of innovation worldwide in the next few years, and also learnt lessons on fostering and promoting innovation. In a lunchtime conversation on innovation that featured Ms. Deborah Henretta, Group President for Asia of Procter & Gamble; Mr. Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer for Microsoft Corporation; and Mr. Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of Rakuten Inc, Japan’s biggest online shopping mall operator, APEC Summit delegates were given a preview of some of the newest sources of innovation worldwide in the next few years, and also learnt lessons on fostering and promoting innovation. -
Session 14: Economic Sense and Nonsense about Global Warming
Climate change is no longer an issue for environmentalists alone- its importance and relevance is growing rapidly in the fields of economics, trade, and security. That growing relevance was reflected in the 14th session of the APEC CEO Summit on “Economic Sense and Nonsense About Global Warming.” The session convened a panel of four leaders in different fields related to the climate change issue: Prof Tim Flannery, reknowned climate change author and Chairman of the Copenhagen Climate Council, Mr Ko Kheng Hwa, CEO of Singbridge International Singapore Pte Ltd, a company which specializes in designing “eco-cities,” most notably in China, Dr Bjorn Lomborg, reknowned author of “The Skeptical Environmentalist” and Director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, and finally Mr Dorjee Sun, CEO of Carbon Conservation, an organization engaged in forest degradation prevention. -
Session 13: The Global Economic Agenda: Priorities for Action
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev focused on building a locomotive for a sustainable world economy. Countries are on the lookout for signs of stabilisation and recovery to signal the end of the crisis and to start the rehabilitation process. President Medvedec thought that it was too early to talk about rehabilitation. Moreover, no one knows for certain the future outcome despite a large number of experts’ forecasts. -
Polling Results for Day 2
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Session 12: Investing in the development of emerging markets
Investing in emerging markets is always a risky process, where businesses tread where few have gone before. Although the potential for return is great, risks and challenges abound. Vietnam is generally recognised as one of the most dynamic economies among the ASEAN nations, and the American Chamber of Commerce has identified it as one of the best new places for investment. -
Session 11: The United States and APEC partners in global trade today
US Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk’s address at this year’s APEC Summit sealed America’s renewed and comprehensive engagement both economically and politically with the Asia-Pacific region after the neglect that many have associated with the Bush administration. It was also geared towards alleviating the fears of American protectionism that many Asia-Pacific leaders at this year’s Summit had voiced in the lead up to hearing the Obama administration’s definitive stance on the issue of free trade and market liberalization. -
Session 10: Are our present models of regionalism such as APEC and ASEAN adequate?
Questions continue to abound over the current state of regional institutions in the Asia Pacific (including APEC), and whether they are adequate. The last year alone has seen two proposals for alternatives to the current architecture have sparked debate: an Asia-Pacific community, proposed by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and an East Asia Community, proposed by Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. But with so much invested in already existing arrangements, some questioned why there might be urgency for new institutions and what purposes the new architecture might serve. -
Dine Around: Meeting the Challenge of Sustainable Development
The dinner panel session on climate change and sustainable development took place at the Jewel Box. The choice of the dining place is apt because of its location amid lush tropical and greed surroundings of Mount Faber. With the Copenhagen conference happening next month, sustainable development is seen as a timely and critical topic to discuss ahead of the conference. -
Dine Around: CSR Partnerships that make a difference (despite difficult times)
All the speakers for the evening told different stories about their history with CSR, but one thing was clear from all their narratives – CSR is not a new concept. It is one which has been with far-sighted companies that still exist today – Mr. Gary Locke mentioned companies such Coca-Cola, which has been leading the CSR wave in the USA by aiming to neutralize their impact on the world’s water supply; or Intel, who have invested more than USD$1b to increase education and technical skills among APEC countries, such as Australia, India, and South Korea. Mr. Peje Emilsson encouraged this long-term thinking in our business leaders today, to ensure that our businesses grow sustainably. -
Dine Around: The Search for Talent: Competing for the Right People in a Shrinking Talent Pool
At One on the Bund located by Singapore’s Marina Bay, top business leaders gathered on the evening of November 13 to discuss the human resource challenges facing the Asia Pacific and the people trends of the future in the aftermath of the crisis. The featured speakers were Liz Benham, President of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women; Mr. John Chen, CEO of Sybase Inc; Mr. Kelvin Leung, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding North Pacific; Ms. Doris Magsaysay Ho, President and CEO of the Magsaysay Group of Companies; and Mr. Kwan Chee Wei, Chief Human Resource Officer of IMC Corp. -
Dine Around: Meeting the Global Energy Supply Challenge
Although APEC’s original focus was on trade liberalization and facilitation between the 21 member economies, it has since expanded its agenda to include many of the other pressing challenges facing economic development. Two such challenges are meeting the global energy supply and reducing carbon emissions in order to stave off climate change. On Friday evening, delegates were privileged to hear from one of the energy industry’s most influential figures about one company’s proposed solutions for both. -
Session 9: How will the Global Crisis Change the World?
The final session of day one featured a question and answer session with Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. Throughout the 45-minute discussion, the Minister Mentor shared many of his views on how the global crisis will change the world, tackling questions on a country-by-country and issue-by-issue basis. The questions were posed by moderator Michael Elliot, Editor, TIME International, as well as from members of the audience- they centered around key issues facing a world emerging from crisis, such as the US role in Asia, the ideal balance of government and business in mitigating the crisis, and the need for trade liberalization. MM Lee gave his responses not only on those issues but also on the specific challenges facing countries in and around the Asia-Pacific, such as the USA, China, India, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Russia. -
Polling Results for Day 1
See the Polling Questions and Results for Day 1 of the APEC CEO Summit:
1. Is the global crisis really over ?
2. Do we need Governments to control business more strictly ?
3. How would you rate China's contribution to the global economic
recovery ?
4. Your expectations for the APEC CEO Summit 2009.
5. How can China support global recovery ?
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Session 8: Sustaining Asia’s growth following the crisis
Session eight was a summit keynote address delivered by HE President Lee Myung-Bak of Korea. This session discussed and analysed how to sustain the growth of Asian economies after the crisis. It also touch on how the G20 process can help Asia’s growth. -
Session 7: Achieving Balanced Growth: What Must We Do?
In the midst of the global economic downturn, the Indonesian economy has become the poster child for finding and maximizing opportunity in crisis. Over a past year which has seen severe financial meltdowns and the contraction of economies across the world, Indonesia has not only fared better than most, but in fact thrived. The economy experienced a 4% GDP growth in 2009 and is set to experience 5.5% growth in 2010. As the first Indonesian president directly elected by the people in 2004, President Yudhoyono is now about to embark on his second presidential term. In his keynote address, he emphasized the critical necessity for global cooperation, good governance, and effective leadership in achieving the balanced growth needed to generate sustained prosperity for the world. -
Session 6: What can APEC do for Business?
The sixth dialogue session for the day featured a discussion between APEC and business leaders. Moderated by Mr. Thomas J. Donohue, CEO of the US Chamber of commerce, the panel featured H.E. President Michelle Bachelet of Chile, The Hon. Prime Minister John Key of New Zealand, Mr. Richard Anderson, CEO of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc, and Mr. Teng Theng Dar, ABAC Chair 2009 and CEO of the Singapore Business Federation. -
Session 5: China’s Response to the Global Financial Crisis: What Role Can China Play to Support Global Recovery?
The afternoon’s first session focused on China’s role in the global economic recovery. With developed countries mired in recession, China is now seen by many as the largest engine for global economic growth, and the country that may “lead” the world out of recession. But many questions persist, such as whether the world economy can rebalance, and whether China’s recovery is sustainable. The session consisted of a speech from Chinese President Hu Jintao followed by a lively discussion between Jiang Jianqing, Chairman and Executive Director, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Hermann Ude, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding, Derek Williams, Executive Vice President, Oracle Corporation, and Marjorie Yang.
