China faces an economic crossroads
With the collapse of external demand in the wake of the global financial crisis, China needs to reduce its dependence on exports and investments, and shift towards internal private consumption, says Stephen Roach, a leading economist and Hong Kong-based chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia.
What’s next after Copenhagen?
Was there too much riding on the United Nations Climate Change Conference which concluded in Copenhagen at the weekend?
‘Incredible consensus’ for regulatory reforms among G20, but political will weakening
In the face of the impending global financial meltdown a year ago, world leaders found clarity: financial regulatory frameworks needed to be overhauled.
A tale of two banks: hallmarks of the changing financial landscape
It would be difficult to find two financial institutions more indicative of the plus and minus sides of the financial tsunami that hit the world of banking this year: on the one hand, ING, the venerable international Dutch bank, forced to go to the government for a 10 billion euro bailout and now facing public evisceration at the hands of EU regulators. On the other hand, Standard Chartered Bank, a bastion of banking in Asia since the era of British imperial rule.
Personal view: Welcome, ‘Stateholder’
The amount of government capital injected into the so-called “private economy” since mid-2008 is unprecedented. The United States and United Kingdom led the way, but many other countries drifted into the same uncharted waters. So now what?
Copenhagen: what should investors be demanding from companies?
The outcome of the Copenhagen climate conference may have disappointed some business leaders and may not be the ‘Global Deal’ that many, including the UK’s Carbon Trust, had been hoping for, but it is being touted as another small step forward in the long process towards reducing carbon emissions.
Upstart: China’s emergence in technology and innovation
It can easily appear as if China can make anything. Yet it makes goods not only at low cost, but now also of high quality, and this constitutes a particularly Chinese brand of innovation that enables China increasingly to shake up global markets. After coming of age in China’s domestic markets, Chinese firms are now replicating their domestic success in global markets by competing on price and quality. The success of the likes of Huawei and Lenovo are indicative of an emerging trend of Chinese
Porsche also makes great cars, remember?
---- by Randel Carlock, Senior Affiliate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise at INSEAD ----
The global automobile industry is in a shambles, with a share in Ford Motor Company selling for less than a Starbucks latte, and GM and Chrysler fighting for their survival.
How to Make a Submarine
The science boffins are going to show us how to make a submarine in a
bottle. The submarine in this experiment is known as a Cartesian diver.
It is named after Rene Descartes, a famous French scientist,
mathematician, and philosopher.
Asian private equity: coming of age
Looking at the numbers, it’s apparent that Asia’s private equity star is shining bright. Assets under management increased ninefold during the last 15 years to about $283 billion in 2009 – 60 per cent of that growth came in the last five years alone.
But for all its healthy growth, only one third of global limited partnerships (LP) have allocations to Asia, including developed markets like Japan, South Korea and Australia and developing economies like China and India, according to
The heat is on: private equity goes to Asia
After a difficult year for private equity in 2009 following the global financial crisis, many limited partners are looking to invest in Asia in search of gross returns of two to three times invested capital, if not more.
At the recent SuperReturn Asia PE conference in Hong Kong (Sept 27-30), China had clearly become the ‘flavour of the month’ for LP investors, with India a not-so-close second, in part due to valuations there.
UO Today #458: Maxine Burkett
Maxine Burkett, 2010 Wayne Morse Chair for Law and Politics; Law, University of Hawaii; director, Island Climate Center: Center for Climate Adaptation and Policy. Burkett’s work focuses on climate justice, the disparate impact of climate change on poor and of-color communities, and our moral and legal obligation to these communities.
UO Today, the Oregon Humanities Center’s [...]
The Esperion Story: Biotech Success and Rebirth
The Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship kicks off its new Distinguished Lecture Series with Dr. Roger Newton, President and CEO of Esperion Therapeutics and co-discoverer of Lipitor, the most prescribed cholesterol-lowering medication in the world.
Dr. Newton discusses his ongoing efforts to commercialize cardiovascular treatments and his approach to securing capital and talent under difficult environmental conditions. [...]
Leadership today: less charisma, more consensus
When you think of words to describe good leadership, ‘charisma’ usually comes somewhere near the top of the list. After all, all the good ideas in the world won’t get anywhere if you aren’t compelling enough to get people to listen to you. But not all successful CEOs are charismatic and today’s complex and profound economic crisis has created a real challenge both for executives and for the professionals who train them.
Terrorism in Asia: still a threat
When Noordin Mohammad Top, the chief suspect in July’s suicide bomb attacks on luxury hotels in Jakarta was killed during a police raid in Central Java in September, the feeling of relief in Indonesia and Southeast Asia was almost palpable.
In search of blue oceans: The Starwood experience
Are companies using Blue Ocean Strategy to search for ‘uncontested market space’ and, if so, how? One group which has been exploring blue ocean thinking for the past three years is Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
However, as INSEAD Knowledge has been finding out, the company has so far been taking a step-by-step approach to implementing the concept, rather than try to realise any sort of ‘grand vision’. As Starwood Vice President Robyn Pratt puts it, it’s more a ques
Empowering the young in an ageing society: Selene Biffi of Youth Action for Change
Influential decision makers are seldom youthful, but in Italy young adults could qualify as a marginalised minority group. Precarious and poorly-paid employment is endemic even for university graduates. Unemployment for those aged 15 to 24 is among the highest in Europe at nearly 20 per cent, and hovers roughly fourteen points higher than Italy’s general population.
KLM: Aviation has to become 'more sustainable'
Airlines cannot shirk the responsibility that comes with being major producers of polluting greenhouse gases and must aggressively pursue policies to minimise their environmental damage. Thats the view of Jan Ernst de Groot, managing director of the Dutch company KLM Airlines, which by its own estimate gives off some 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from its fleet of 194 aircraft.
Mapping out the challenges for social innovation research
Social entrepreneurs and enterprises may have limited resources but they’re resourceful and are capable of tackling failed markets, as well as intractable ‘wicked’ problems. But the key question, according to Pamela Hartigan, Director of Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Said Business School, Oxford University, is how far can social innovation help forge a new global order that is more sustainable, responsible, and humane than what has gone before?
Helping China's elderly come to terms with a digital world
As the world’s most populous nation, China is expected to have 248 million people who are 65 years of age and above by 2020 – and those numbers will continue to grow.
With life expectancy progressing well into the 80s, the elderly will pose an interesting challenge for society, and the Chinese government in particular.
