Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC): Making Recovery Inclusive, and Bolstering Supply Chains

SINGAPORE APEC STUDY CENTRE WEBINAR

About the Webinar

The webinar will discuss findings from the latest APEC Regional Trends Analysis (ARTA)—the flagship publication of the APEC Policy Support Unit (PSU). It will start with an overview of the economic and trade trends in the APEC region in 2020, showing that the region performed better than was earlier projected with a softer contraction of 1.9 percent in 2020 but with trading activity still adversely affected. While the region is expected to grow in 2021, the recovery is going to be uneven with unequal impacts on different segments of the society. Collaborative efforts are needed to ensure that COVID-19 is effectively managed everywhere, ensuring access to vaccines, treatments and medical supplies for a healthier population and leading to a steady reopening of businesses and borders toward a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery.

It will then discuss the theme chapter on supply chains, in particular how COVID-19 has affected the functioning of global supply chains that provide us with access to food, medicines, technology, and other necessities. It shows how the pursuit of efficiency and cost considerations have dominated the formation of current global value chains, but have exposed them to risk of external shocks like the current pandemic and natural disasters. Some firms have taken initial actions in the name of improving resilience—such as withdrawing from international trade—but these, in the longer term, may achieve the opposite results. Improving resiliency of global supply chains will not be a costless exercise, but one that will require collaborative partnership among firms and economies, and regional cooperation.

About the Speakers

Denis Hew is the Director of PSU. Before taking up his current appointment,
Dr Hew was Regional Cooperation Specialist at the Asian Development Bank, where he managed technical assistance and coordinated efforts on regional cooperation and integration in the Southeast Asia department. From 2001 to 2008, Dr Hew was Senior Fellow and Programme Coordinator (Regional Economic Studies) at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. He was also for many years the Managing Editor of the ASEAN Economic Bulletin, a leading academic journal that focuses on policy-relevant economic issues in Southeast Asia. Dr Hew has written extensively on regional economic cooperation and integration, especially in ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific region.

Dr Denis Hew holds a BSc (Hons) in Economics from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom and MSc and PhD in Finance from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom.

Akhmad Bayhaqi is a Senior Analyst of PSU. Prior to APEC, Dr Bayhaqi was a Researcher with the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies, Brunei Darussalam working on Education and Social Policy issues. Previously, he was a Consultant (Economist) for the World Bank Office in Jakarta dealing with programs on public finance within the eastern Indonesia provinces under the Public Expenditure and Capacity enHancement/Harmonization (PEACH) program. Dr Bayhaqi has also worked at the University of Indonesia as a Researcher/Lecturer focusing mostly on issues related to economics and public policy.

Dr Akhmad Bayhaqi holds a PhD in Southeast Asian Studies from the National University of Singapore.

About the Discussant

Jayant Menon is Visiting Senior Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, following his early retirement from the ADB, where he was Lead Economist in the Office of the Chief Economist. He started his career as an academic at the Centre of Policy Studies at Monash University at its original campus in Clayton, Melbourne. He has also worked at the University of Melbourne, Victoria University, and the American University in Washington, DC. He is interested in trade and investment issues and how they affect economic development, particularly in the Asian region.

Registration

This webinar will be delivered online entirely. You can join the webinar at the specified date and time using devices (computer, phone, or tablet) with internet connection.

Please register here to receive your unique link for joining the webinar.

Limited spaces only, register early to avoid disappointment.

To join the webinar,

1. Install the Zoom client onto your computer or download the app on your mobile device.
2. Click on the unique link in your email.

If you have questions for the speakers, please key in your questions via the Q&A, stating your name and affiliation. The moderator will field them to the speakers during the Q&A session.

Date

Jul 15 2021
Expired!

Time

GMT+8
10:00 am - 11:30 am

Location

Webinar