Newsletter from the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC)
UPCOMING EVENTS
SINCPEC Conference: "APEC Economies: A Paradigm Shift?", Singapore | April 26-27, 2012
The annual SINCPEC conference will be held back-to-back with the next Standing Committee meeting. The SINCPEC conference is a prelude to the APEC meetings to be held in Vladivostok, Russia later this year. The objective of this conference is to provide ideas and suggestion on the major issues that leaders of the Asia-Pacific region have identified, focusing on further trade liberalization, nurturing Asia-Pacific growth with paradigm shift and potential structural change needed, as well as securing future growth through functional cooperation. Plenary sessions will cover topics such as trade liberalization issues including TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), the impact of Euro-zone financial crisis on the Asia-Pacific growth, as well as areas of regional cooperation such as food security, energy security, and new technologies in infrastructure and connectivity. For more information on the Singapore PECC Conference, please contact: Ms. Amanda Lim, spplla@nus.edu.sg. More...
PECC Standing Committee Meeting, Singapore | April 25 & 27, 2012
The next PECC standing committee meeting takes place in Singapore on April 25 and 27, 2012. PECC member committee chairs and representatives will discuss recent and upcoming projects, mid to long-term strategy of PECC, budgetary matters, and elect a new co-chair of PECC.
ISSUES
Examining the Resilience of Regional Financial Architecture in the Face of Continuing Economic Downturn
In the context of advanced economies, rule-based monetary policies represented by inflation targeting have been pursued and spread among them. But they failed to prevent the global asset market bubble bursts. In emerging and developing economies, giving up virtual dollar peg exchange rate systems, they have been recommended to adopt another nominal anchor, i.e. inflation targeting with flexible exchange rates and freer capital movement. But they are now confronted by volatile international financial flows and exchange rate risks, which may impact their long-term growth paths in a non-negligible way.
The first PEO (Pacific Economic Outlook) Structure group meeting on monetary policy regimes took place in Osaka, Japan, during March 17-18, 2012, hosted by the Japan committee for PEO. Following the previous topic of Macrofinancial Linkages and Financial Deepening, this project is to scrutinize monetary policy regimes and their effects on macroeconomic performance in advanced and emerging economies in the Pacific region. More...
Oceans as a Source of Renewable Energy, Hawaii, USA | March 26-28, 2012
The second seminar of PECC International Project on marine resources took place in Hawaii, USA during the last week of March 2012. It focused on ocean as source of renewable energy and the management of natural resources found in the ocean and coastal areas. Representatives from government, research institutions, and relevant industries participated in the seminar to share some of the innovative ways to optimize the usage of marine resources as renewable energy and on ways to achieve an integrated, sustainable approach in managing natural resources in the ocean. Experiences with ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), deep seawater air conditioning, wave energy, tidal energy, microalgae energy and their prospects were discussed in length through case studies from respective industries. More...
Program agenda Presentations for download
MEMBER COMMITTEE UPDATES MONPECC: Mr. Narankhuu MP Appointed as New Chair
Mr. Durzee Odkhuu has stepped down as the Chair of MONPECC and the former Vice-Chair of MONPECC Mr. Khalzkhuu Narankhuu MP will replace the former as the new Chair. Mr. Narankhuu has received an international economics degree from Kiev State University and has entered the foreign ministry in 1978. Since, he has held various senior positions including Minister for Industry and Trade during 2007-2008 and also as the General Director of Erdenet mining plant during 2000-2007. Since 2008, he is serving as a Member of Parliament for the State of Great Hural of Mongolia. More...
HKCPEC: Prof. Stephen Cheung Appointed as its New Chair
The Hong Kong Government has appointed Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-leung, Dean of School of Business and Professor of Finance at the Hong Kong Baptist University, as the new Chair of the HKCPEC (Hong Kong Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation). Prof. Cheung also holds advisory and adjunct professorships at Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University respectively. His major reserach interests include corporate finance, investment and financial market development. Prof. Cheung succeeds Professor Sung Yun-wing, who has dedicated eight years in the capacity of HKCPEC Chair. More...
HKCPEC Holds a Seminar on the Changing Global Landscape
The Hong Kong Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation (HKCPEC) and the Trade and Industry Department on March 6th jointly held a seminar entitled "Changing Global Landscape - Tailing Effect of the Financial Crisis from a Regional Economic Cooperation Perspective". More than 100 members of the academic, business and government sectors attended. Speaking at the seminar, the Chairman of the HKCPEC, Professor Sung Yun-wing, introduced the HKCPEC and its activities. He said that given the growing importance of regional co-operation, the HKCPEC had conducted a series of programmes, including Youth Learning Projects, workshops and seminars, to promote the understanding of regional co-operation matters to the general public.
During the seminar, the Head (Economic Research) of Research Department of Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Dr. Lillian Cheung, talked about the likely impacts for the Asia-Pacific region from the rising sovereign debt issues in the advanced economies and the possible remedies. The former Head of Research, East, Global Research of Standard Chartered Bank, Mr. Nicholas Kwan, shared his views on challenges for the financial and banking sector in the region in the changing dynamics in the world economy. The Principal Economist of the Office of Regional Economic Integration of the Asian Development Bank, Dr. Song Lei-lei, analysed the implications of a changing global landscape from the economic perspective. The Professor of Economics and Director, Centre for Public Policy Studies of Lingnan University, Professor Ho Lok-sang, spoke about the financial crises and the US Dollar, in particular on how a reform of the international monetary regime would contribute to a more stable world. More...
CANCPEC: Mr. Hugh Stephens Appointed as New Vice-Chair
CANCPEC (Canada National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation) has appointed Hugh Stephens as the new Vice-Chair of CANCPEC. Mr. Stephens has more than 35 years of government and business experience in the Asia-Pacific region. Before returning to Canada in December 2009, he served as Senior Vice President, Public Policy (Asia Pacific) for Time Warner, based at the company’s regional headquarters in Hong Kong. He continues to serve as an advisor to the company. Prior to joining Time Warner in January 2001, Mr. Stephens spent 28 years with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) of Canada, including five diplomatic missions to Asia. His final assignment was as Assistant Deputy Minister for Policy and Communications at DFAIT. Mr. Stephens has served on the Executive Committee of the Boards of the US National Center for APEC and the US-Korea Business Council. He is currently on the Board of the Victoria chapter of the Canadian International Council and is a member of the Canadian Intellectual Property Council of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. More...
PUBLICATIONS
Environmental Sustainability in Urban Centers: Efficiency and new technologies in the provision of urban services (2012) 184 pages ISBN: 978-981-07-1027-9
This publication is a summary of presentations, discussions, and recommendations resulting from PECC seminars that focused on new technologies and efficient measures being applied at various urban centers in areas of public service and infrastructure. Related industry leaders, academics, and urban policy-makers had gathered in Auckland (December 2009) and then in Perth (April 2011) to address the regional challenges and to share the best local practices. Click download (pdf, 3.14MB) |
BULLETIN
[new publication] Service Sector Reforms: Asia-Pacific Perspectives
Editors: Pierre Sauve, Gloria O. Pasadilla, Mia Mikic 312 pages ISBN: 978-92-1-120638
Services hold the key to increased productivity and dynamic growth. Previously unthinkable technologies have resulted in a multitude of new avenues for trade in services, and the future holds still greater possibilities. Yet understanding services remains a challenge.
To design future domestic reforms, policymakers want to have a clearer idea about how the concessions they made on services in various trade agreements or in the unilateral liberalization of key service sectors have contributed to growth and human development. However, very few studies that could shed some light on such questions have been undertaken.
The papers in this volume were presented at a conference on "Reforming Services for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific," organized by ADBI and its partners, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT). [text from ADBI website]
Download the entire publication (pdf, 2MB)
[new website] Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT) Aid for Trade
Working together on transforming 'Aid for Trade' into 'Investment for Trade'
The purpose of Aid for Trade is to provide developing economies increased financial and technical assistance in various areas of trade to enable them to take advantage of multilateral trade liberalization which would contribute towards achieving their own development goals. |