World business leaders faced impossible decisions a year ago. Initiate layoffs, or wait for government money? Pay rent, or meet payroll? Which factories do we mothball first? How do we liquidate all this inventory? Chapter 11 now or later? Yet even as airlines and retailers collapsed, oil prices plunged below zero and death counts soared -- there were some pandemic bright spots. Pharmas like Pfizer and AstraZeneca have been busy, while Amazon can't find enough workers. And as

Western European countries lead in the 2021 rankings, reflecting the resilience of economies in the face of the global COVID-19 health crisis. Switzerland has come top for the first time in the 33-year history of IMD’s World Competitiveness Ranking, in a year that reflected the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic competitiveness. Sweden came second (up from 6th last year) with Denmark in third spot (2nd in 2020) in a shakeup that saw European economies weather the hea

The EU-ASEAN Business Council (EU-ABC) has published two papers calling for more progress on ASEAN’s regional economic agenda and linking a durable recovery from the pandemic to ASEAN’s Leaders, Trade and Finance Ministers putting in place specific measures to accelerate work on the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The EU-ABC, which represents the interests of the European business community across Southeast Asia, cited concerns about the lack of progress on key elements of AS

RCEP Explained: The World’s Biggest Trading Bloc Trade and commerce are the lifeblood of the global economy. Naturally, agreements among nations in a certain geographical area help facilitate relationships in ways that are ideally beneficial for everyone involved. In late 2020, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was signed, officially creating the biggest trade bloc in history. Here, we break down everything you need to know about it, from who’s involved t

The Top 100, Ranked PwC ranked the largest publicly-traded companies by their market capitalization in U.S. dollars. It’s also worth noting that sector classification is based on the FTSE Russell Industry Classification Benchmark, and a company’s location is based on where its headquarters are located. Here is the top 100 ranking of the biggest companies in the world, organized from the biggest to the smallest. Risers and Fallers What are some of the notable changes to the bi

Member nations of a Pacific regional trade deal agreed Wednesday to allow the U.K. to begin the process to join in a potential boost for the country’s trade following Brexit. Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said the move would strengthen economic ties between the U.K. and Japan, as well as making the zone covered by the deal equal to the EU in terms of economic size. He spoke to reporters after hosting an online meeting of ministers and officials from the 11 cou

New economic data from across the APEC region shows a softer economic contraction of 1.9 percent in 2020, with continued fiscal measures leading to a rise in government consumption and improved investment and household consumption. According to the latest APEC Regional Trends Analysis, household consumption, APEC’s main driver of growth, improved to -3.9 percent in the second half of 2020 on a year-on-year basis, as compared to -7.0 percent in the first half of last year. Inv

Levies now cover about $250 billion a year in goods—down from $370 billion—as U.S. companies shift purchases elsewhere U.S. tariffs have led to a sharp decline in Chinese imports and significant changes in the types of goods Americans buy from China, new data show, with purchases of telecommunications gear, furniture, apparel and other goods shifting to other countries. Nearly two-thirds of all imports from China—or roughly $370 billion in annual goods—were covered by tariffs

The country’s pandemic policy offers a case study in the effects of prohibition As the taverns and drinking spots filled up with revellers in Xhora Mouth, deep in South Africa’s rural Eastern Cape, Lynne Wilkinson worried that the crowds celebrating Christmas would bring a new wave of coronavirus infection to an isolated region with few hospitals and clinics. Bulungula Incubator, a charity where Wilkinson is acting director, had worked with villagers to manage the risk of big

According to a new report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) economic growth in developing Asia is set to rebound to 7.3% this year, supported by a healthy global recovery and early progress on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines, The projected resurgence follows a 0.2% contraction last year, according to ADB’s flagship economic publication, Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2021, released today. The region’s growth is forecast to moderate to 5.3% in 2022. Excluding the

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement has been ratified by China and it is hoped that other member countries can speed up their progress and finally reach the threshold of entry into force, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao said Monday. "The sooner the agreement comes into force, the sooner the people of the member countries will benefit," Wang said on the sidelines of the annual national legislative session. The agreement signed by 15 Asia Pacific c

Prior to the pandemic, Southeast Asia had made huge advancements and was forecasted to be the fourth biggest economy by the year 2030. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in economic devastation for Asean, arguably posing the greatest challenge since the region’s formation. However, there are positive signs that Asean can make an economic recovery in 2021. “All Asean nations are involved in the Asean Single Window Live Operation, where trade and cargo flows can

The coronavirus pandemic, log-jammed trade talks and a long-delayed meeting of member states are just a few of the crises awaiting Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as she takes the helm of the World Trade Organization next month. The WTO needs a kiss of life -- and fast -- and the first female and first African director-general of the global trade body will have to hit the ground running as she takes on the job in the middle of a major global recession. Here are the four main challenges t

SMUGGLED wildlife, cigarettes, counterfeit medicines, substandard personal protective equipment (PPE), and even children's toys that bypass safety checks are among the worrisome goods traded in South-east Asia's illicit markets. The region's counterfeit goods market, excluding fraudulent medicines, is worth around US$35.9 billion annually, according to a 2019 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). It also costs governments further billions in tax reve

The world’s biggest free-trade agreement by population and GDP will bring huge tariff cuts for its Asean and Pacific Rim signatories, including China But the agreement is less open and comprehensive than the 11-member CPTPP, which involves some of the same countries along with the United States When leaders from 15 countries in the Indo-Pacific region meet for a virtual summit on Sunday, they are expected to sign a free-trade agreement that, measured by population and GDP, is

We are pleased to share the October China Preliminary Data from our partners Trade Data Monitor, summarised by John Miller. For a copy of 'October Preliminary China Trade Data' feel free to email andrewk@kwconfex.com Trade Data Monitor Partner APAC China maintained its strong 2020 export performance in October, buoyed by a summer of consumer spending in the U.S. and Europe after a locked-down spring. Overall, outbound shipments increased to $237.2 billion, up 11.4% compared t

Irregularities in the data saw the withdrawal of this year's World Bank Doing Business report. Investment Monitor delves into the world of FDI data to assess whether the numbers can be trusted. The withdrawal of the World Bank’s Doing Business report this year sparked alarm among investors and policymakers the world over. The bank is currently investigating ‘irregularities’ in recent editions that affected the rankings of China and Saudi Arabia, among others. The level of con

Sharing the latest report from UNCTAD on post Covid Trade & Development Covid-19 has served as a reminder that we live in a closely interdependent world that brings opportunities but also carries dangers. It has, just as importantly, shed light on a whole series of pre-existing conditions - from heightened inequality, to unsustainable debt and rampant environmental destruction - that were left unaddressed after the Global Financial Crisis. The world at the end of 2019 was, in

Asian Development Bank (ADB) today launched the latest edition of its annual statistical report for the region, Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2020, and an update to its online database, Key Indicators Database. Key Indicators 2020 presents a comprehensive set of economic, financial, social, and environmental indicators, including for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), for ADB’s 49 regional members covering the years from 2000 to 2019. A key statistic in the r

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) ratified the $3.1 billion anticipatory approval by President Muhammadu Buhari to concession the modernisation project of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to a consortium named Messers E.Customs HC Project Limited. The concession is for 20 years. The consortium is made up of Bionica Technologies W.A. Limited, Huawei, Smiths Detection, Nuctech of China, Larsen & Toubro Group, and Paramount Group. The Minister of Finance, Budget, and Nationa