KOPEC: Dr Soogil Young appointed chairman of the Presidential Committee on Green Growth

Dr Soogil Young, chair of KOPEC was appointed by President Myung-bak Lee of the Republic of Korea as Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Green Growth (www.greengrowth.go.kr), with the responsibility to co-chair the work and meetings of the Committee with the Prime Minister.

The Committee is Korea’s highest-level policy-deliberation body on all matters related with Korea’s climate-change mitigation and adaptation strategies and policies, promotion of green economy and its growth, and contribution to green growth in the developing world.  The Committee currently consis...

Light the Lamp: Papers on World Trade and Investment in Memory of Bijit Bora

Indonesia's Minister of Trade, Her Excellency Dr Mari Pangestu, is the co-editor of a new book Light the Lamp: Papers on World Trade and Investment in Memory of Bijit Bora.  The book was launched in Jakarta on 21 July.  Co-editors are Christopher Findlay and David Parsons.

Bijit was a long-time contributor to the work of PECC, especially to the Trade Forum and to PECC’s work on investment.  He died suddenly in 2006 aged 45 and this collection of papers covers the main topics of his research interests.  The volume includes a paper by Dr Pangestu on the future of world t...

HKCPEC: Post-crisis opportunities for business

Although many of the Asia-Pacific economies seem to be now on their paths to recovery since the large-scale economic crisis hit the region in 2008, the domestic business environment and prospects for international free trade still remain uncertain for most. Dr. William Fung, Managing Director of Li & Fung Group and former Chair of PECC, spoke of the persisting threat of protectionism amid concerns about decline in economic growth and trade.

However, there were also reasons to stay positive in light of the emerging opportunities for businesses under the new global economic order post-crisis ...

Experts discuss social resilience as the next step post-crisis

Over the last 20 years, economic crises have hit the region almost every ten years. There is a need to consider not only the short-term economic rescue policy, but also the resilient infrastructure against frequent economic crisis in the long term. 

In addition to the economic crises that have hit the region, the Asia-Pacific is also home to some of the world’s fastest ageing societies, over the next twenty years the region’s economies will need to consider the impact of demographic change on the sustainability of their social security systems. 

Experts gathered in Tokyo fo...

A Post 2010 Trade Agenda

The year 2010 can justly be viewed as a watershed year for trade policy in the Asia-Pacific region. The global financial crisis and its aftermath have changed the environment for trade policy. It is also the year when industrialized APEC economies will be assessed on their progress on the Bogor Goals.

As last year's PECC task force on sustainable responses to the crisis made clear, the export-led model of East Asian growth faces inevitable adjustment in the light of diminished capacity of the US consumer market to absorb East Asian exports.

Other trade policy issues the region is grappling with ...