Citi boosts Asia markets team with two hires from JP Morgan | FinanceAsia

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Citi is adding to its Asia markets team with two appointments from JP Morgan who are both set to start at Citi in December. 

Anand Goyal is set to join Citi’s FX team as head of FX institutional sales for Japan, Asia North & Australia and Asia South clusters. Based in Singapore, Goyal (pictured right) will report to Cécile Gambardella, head of sales for markets for Japan, Asia North and Australia clusters and Sam Hewson, global head of FX sales.

Goyal was previously head of macro FX (MacroX) and real money sales for Asia Pacific (Apac) at JP Morgan, where he began his career over 20 years ago, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

In addition, Hooi Wan Ng will join Citi as head of markets for Malaysia. Ng (pictured left) will report to Sue Lee, head of markets for the Asia South cluster and Vikram Singh, Citi country officer and banking head for Malaysia. She was most recently head of local corporate sales and private side sales at JP Morgan, where she has served since 2011.

The upcoming move follows the appointment of Ngo Hong Minh as head of markets and country treasurer for Vietnam who joined Citi in December 2023 from JP Morgan.

Commenting on Goyal’s appointment, Hong Kong-based Gambardella said, “As Apac’s leading markets and FX franchise, we have opportunities for growth across our network. With his extensive experience and deep understanding of regional market trends, we are well positioned to further strengthen and grow our client relationships under Anand’s leadership.”

Commenting on Ng’s appointment, Singh said: “Malaysia is a key market for Citi globally, where we are seeing strong growth across our interconnected businesses. Malaysia is at the forefront of investments, both foreign and domestic, as it continues to benefit from supply chain shifts. I’m confident under Hooi Wan’s leadership Citi’s growth momentum will continue.”

Citi’s Q3 2024 results 

 

Meanwhile, on October 15, Citigroup revealed that its net profit was $3.2 billion in the third quarter 2024, compared to net profit of $3.5 billion in Q3 2023. 

The bank said this was driven by the higher cost of credit, which was  partially offset by the higher revenues and the lower expenses.

Citigroup revenues of $20.3 billion in Q3, an increase of1%, on a reported basis. Excluding divestiture-related impacts, primarily consisting of the approximately $400 million gain from the sale of the Taiwan consumer banking business in the prior-year period, revenues were up 3%. This increase in revenues was driven by growth across all businesses.

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Trump win potential puts Asia on a tariff-ied edge – Asia Times

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Asia is suddenly starting to think about the “what-if” storm that will sweep Donald Trump and his Republican Party to win on November 5th. situations.

Despite the extremely close election in the US, Kamala Harris ‘ Democrats constantly had a statistical advantage. The GOP-controlled White House, Senate, and House of Representatives is currently influencing betting markets, which will force Asia to fight a” Trump business” circumstance in 2025.

Most Asian officials prefer Harris, as she would represent stability from Joe Biden’s administration. Trump’s industry policies alone had transform the world economic system, which is unusual.

The most immediate danger from Tokyo to Jakarta to the rest&nbsp, of export-oriented Asia is Trump’s supersized taxes. The Trump plan for a 60 % tax on China will stifle growth in Asia’s largest economy and stifle supply stores everywhere.

UBS&nbsp, Group thinks that tariff alone will cut China’s annual growth by more than half – chopping 2.5 percentage points off the gross domestic product ( GDP ) of the globe’s top trading nation. Due to weak retail spending, property purchase, and new home sales, China increased just 4.6 % in the third quarter year over year.

Over time, UBS&nbsp, analyst Wang Tao warns of the “risk of various nations raising tariffs on imports from China as well”, kicking off a prospective hands culture of tit-for-tat trade restrictions.

It’s not the end of the world, of training. As Tianchen Xu, senior analyst at The Economist Intelligence Unit, information, China’s full-year GDP target of around 5 % &nbsp, “is presently within approach with more stimulus in the third fourth”.

Despite the magnitude of these” challenges”, Xu notes,” China’s economy is not incurable as some would suggest”. However, Trump’s return to the height of massive trade wars was quickly alter that situation.

Trump has threatened to impose taxes of between 100 % and 20 % on imported cars from Mexico, and he has threatened to increase Biden’s new punitive tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles even further. But how long will it be before Chinese, South Asian and Indian-made cars face comparable Trump levies?

For maneuvers did put Thailand and other Southeast Asian export-oriented economies in harm’s way. Trump 2.0 may aggravate Thailand’s” Detroit of Asia” styles on being the leading China fence for international automakers.

According to Capital Economics ‘ chief economist, Neil Shearing, Asia is anticipating a “universal tariff on all imports to the US” as well as higher Trump taxes.

Additionally, Eastern policymakers must figure out how much more stringent the restrictions on US immigration will cost. Additionally, Trump has promised fresh tax breaks, which will only help the US’s$ 35 trillion national debt grow.

” While it’s reasonable to assume that many of Trump ‘s&nbsp, campaign pledges will be diluted&nbsp, when faced with the reality of government, the common thread running through each of these proposals is that they will end in higher inflation”, Shearing says.

By the middle of 2026, according to Capital Economics, Trump 2.0 plans could increase prices by two percentage points over recent levels. Real GDP may be roughly 0. 75 % lower while the federal funds rate would be roughly 50 basis points higher. ” Used up”, Shearing says,” this would be bad for both US bonds&nbsp, and&nbsp, stocks”.

The comments effects may be felt worldwide. Shearing notes that “emerging markets with higher levels of additional debt or northern banks that are especially vulnerable to movements in the exchange rate – somewhat Turkey, Indonesia, and, given its latest inflation problems, Brazil – would probably dial up the pace of monetary easing.”

Shearing adds that” the risk of higher tariffs, if implemented, could also have a significant impact on countries that trade with the US – Mexico, Korea, Vietnam and, of course, China— especially if Trump imposes a general tariff, which would be much harder to avoid through trans-shipment”.

Trump’s policies may have an impact on emerging markets and investment. ” Tariff concerns have been a drag on EU equities”, says Emmanuel Cau, a strategist at Barclays.

Emre Peker, an analyst at Eurasia Group, notes that&nbsp,” Trump’s threat of at least 60 % tariffs on all Chinese goods and a 10 % levy on US imports from the rest of the world, as well as his potential suspension of China’s most-favored-nation trading status under World Trade Organization rules, would stoke EU-China&nbsp, trade&nbsp, tensions as more Chinese overcapacity flows to Europe. It could also increase the pressure on European industries, which are already struggling against US and Chinese rivals, from metals to automotive, green energy, and technology.

This, Peker adds,” could put pressure on Brussels to be more forward-leaning on its own duty or tariff posture toward Beijing. Furthermore, a&nbsp, Trump&nbsp, administration would likely monitor third countries for possible trans-shipment of Chinese goods and/or circumvention of US tariffs against Chinese overcapacity, threatening additional duties on the EU and others to close any backdoors into the US market”.

One of the bigger wildcards about a Trump presidency is that the US dollar will increase, putting downward pressure on China’s exchange rate. Carie Li, a global market strategist at DBS Bank, says “markets are watching if the Trump trade is heating up and pushing the yuan back to 7.15 against the dollar.”

Some people believe there is a reason to worry about Trump. According to Bilal Hafeez, CEO and head of research at Macro Hive,” The fixed income selloff accompanying rising odds of a Republican sweep could be overdone because Trumponomics is likely to be more rational than the media conveys.”

Hafeez goes on to say that” the impact of the tariffs on inflation has been greatly exaggerated. The US is a domestic-driven economy. Consumer goods imports, excluding cars, represent only about 5 % of total consumer spending, with imports from China accounting for about 40 %”.

A 60 % tariff increase on imports from China and a 10 % tariff increase on imports from other countries could increase consumer price indices by about 150 basis points, according to Hafeez.

However, crypto bets and other assets are all being negatively impacted by Trump’s re-election specter. ” Elections remain hard to call, but if you are long crypto here, you are likely taking a Trump trade”, says Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani.

Most troubling about Trump 2.0 is what Asia does n’t know. Imponderables abound. Trump’s first act as president in 2017, remember, was pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership ( TPP ). A President Harris, by sharp contrast, will almost certainly attend next year’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC ) summit and as she did in Bangkok in 2022 declare the US a” Pacific nation”.

But it’s easy to count the ways Trump might shake up Asia’s 2025 and beyond. He would undoubtedly act to lower the dollar in order to boost US manufacturers ‘ competitiveness, for instance. That could worsen the negative effects China’s current headwinds and undermine confidence in the dollar as a global reserve currency.

Trump will undoubtedly pounce on the Federal Reserve during a second term. Trump will browbeat Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to lower rates in 2019. Trump also considered firing Powell, along with criticizing the Fed on social media. Thus, Powell injected unneeded liquidity into a struggling economy.

Recently, Trump argued that&nbsp,” the president should have at least a say in” Fed interest rate decisions. Meanwhile, the” Project 2025″ scheme that the Heritage Foundation right-wing think tank devised for Trump 2.0 favors meddling with the Fed’s mandate.

Then there’s the default risk. &nbsp, As a businessman in decades past, Trump was a serial bankruptcy filer. Trump made hints about US debt default while campaigning in 2016 and spooked Wall Street.

” I would borrow, knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal”, Trump told CNBC when asked about his fiscal plans. ” And if the economy was good, it was good. So, therefore, you ca n’t lose”.

In 2020, the Washington Post reported that Trump officials, looking to punish China, mulled canceling debt held by Beijing. It’s not difficult to comprehend how catastrophic a catastrophe would be because the US national debt is now twice the size of the Chinese GDP.

Trump is not going away, even if Harris wins on November 5. There is only a slim chance that Trump will graciously concede defeat and go back to his golf courses. Trump’s legal team is already working on the election results, which could incite a 2021-like insurrection that will be staged at locations across the country.

Washington’s political polarization could lead to unexpected risks that would cause the laws of financial gravity to resurface. The last insurrection&nbsp, Trump fomented dragged Washington’s credit&nbsp, rating&nbsp, down with it. When&nbsp, Fitch&nbsp, Ratings&nbsp, yanked away Washington’s AAA status last year, it cited the insurrection as a key factor.

As&nbsp, Fitch&nbsp, put it, the chaos on&nbsp, January&nbsp, 6, 2021, was a “reflection of the deterioration in governance” imperiling US finances. The US national debt is now twice the size of&nbsp, China’s GDP, threatening Washington’s last remaining AAA&nbsp, rating&nbsp, from Moody’s Investors Service.

Here, it’s worth noting how a Trump 2.0 presidency would play into Beijing’s hands. Surely, Team Xi is n’t looking forward to Trump’s coming onslaught of tariffs. However, the ways that nations like Japan and Korea could end up as collateral damage may make China appear more appealing as a trading partner.

At the same time, the more Trump 2.0 blocks Asia’s access to US markets, the more governments in Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, Putrajaya and Singapore might be incentivized to draw closer to Beijing.

Hence Asia’s worries about a “red wave” 11 days from now that makes economic paranoia great again. Policymakers in the region are already weighing how hard their economies would be hit by tariff-sealed US markets and how to respond as the odds of Trump’s return rise.

Follow William Pesek on X at @WilliamPesek

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Krungsri chief leads sustainability thrust

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The Thai monetary institution is being elevated to international standards while ensuring its potential.

Kenichi Yamato, President and CEO of Bank of Ayudhya Public Co, Ltd., is attempting to navigate the company in a responsible direction from the conviction that the future of banking must be responsible.

Although Mr. Yamato has only been employed by Krungsri for about a month, he is determined to realize this goal and bring the Thai economic organization up to international standards.

On May 15, 2023, he was appointed to the bank’s president and chief exec, and he also serves on the board of Krungsri as an independent professional.

Mr. Yamato is a skilled professional who has spent more than 30 years in various significant positions throughout his job.

He spent the first 20 years of his career in corporate and investment banking before joining Mitsubishi UFG Financial Group ( MUFG), a Japanese international financial institution, in 1991.

From 2011 to 2016, he led MUFG’s financial planning and global techniques group. Before returning to Tokyo in March 2022, he served as the local mind for Hong Kong and afterwards as the land mind for China.

Mr. Yamato stated that the company's goals are to enhance Thailand's overall ecology and raise all residents ' quality of life.

Mr. Yamato stated that the company’s goals are to enhance Thailand’s overall ecology and raise all residents ‘ quality of life.

Prior to taking over the group’s professional banking businesses in Asean, Mr. Yamato was the chief executive of global corporate banking at MUFG. Additionally, he held important posts, including as the non-executive chairman of Security Bank in the Philippines and the senator director of Bank Danamon in Indonesia.

We think green finance will be the banking industry’s potential because of the changing scenery of the industry. Our objective is to improve the quality of life for all Thais and strengthen the ecosystem nevertheless. We are not only thriving on it but even adapting to change, he said.

Krungsri intends to use the global knowledge of MUFG, its family firm, to transform into a leading green bank in Thailand.

The bank aims to become one of the country’s most responsible commercial banks and is committed to achieving carbon neutrality. Krungsri and MUFG have a commitment to achieve net-zero emissions in both its financial investment and its procedures by 2030.

Krungsri, Thailand’s fifth-largest provider by total property, believes that environmental and social ecology are essential to securing a lasting future. Additionally, the institution is committed to using its financial solutions to address social and environmental issues.

The bank has committed to a 100 billion baht green finance goal between 2021 and 2030, and we have already executed more than 76 billion baht by the middle of this time. Owing to our strategic relationship with MUFG, we’re bringing world experience to the local business”, he said.

By bringing a variety of responsible financial services and products to the Thai marketplace, according to Mr. Yamato, Krungsri is even willing to support the entire ecosystem to improve sustainability. These include sustainability-linked securities, sustainability-linked loans, natural and social securities, and Southeast Asia’s first conservation connection in the travel industry.

Mr. Yamato praised Krungsri’s pride in initiatives like the Krungsri ESG Hours and the Krungsri ESG Academy, which were created specifically to assist Thai small and medium-sized businesses ( SMEs ) transition to sustainable business practices and ensure long-term growth.

Krungsri ESG Hours recognises and supports SME entrepreneurs who align their business practices with environmental, social and governance ( ESG) principles.

In addition, the Krungsri ESG Academy offers training programs to help businesses grow change plans that adhere to ESG systems and promote long-term shifts in business operations and product offerings.

Also, the bank offers the Krungsri SME Transition Loan, in line with the Bank of Thailand’s suggestions, which is designed to support local SMEs adopt sustainable practices based on the round socioeconomic model.

Krungsri also works with regional partners to market a Thai economy that is green. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and the Bank have collaborated to research and promote efficient and intelligent power options as well as methods for lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Krungsri is even willing to support Asean member states in their transition to a sustainable market as a local gamer.

Kenichi Yamato

Bank of Ayudhya Public Company Limited ( Krungsri ) President and CEO

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Banks, telcos and scam victims to share liability for losses under new framework to kick in on Dec 16

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There were also calling for more con varieties, such as malware-enabled schemes, to be covered under the foundation. &nbsp,

The government responded by saying that they would continue to concentrate on a “defined opportunity of phishing schemes where the obligations for financial institutions and telcos may be plainly set out.”

They added that the government will continue to work with habitat people and businesses to implement measures to reduce the risk of additional scams, such as “holding habitat players responsible where required.” &nbsp,

Lenders have taken a more forward-leaning approach to assessing kindness bills for clients affected by malicious hoaxes while this is being worked out, they said. &nbsp,

Given the influence and obligations these companies have over the safety of online banks and SMS programs, MAS and IMDA kept their attention on banks and telcos in response to calls for the model to include more entities like as messaging platforms and social media platforms.

However, the government uses” a complete ecosystem approach” to combat schemes, including urging social media companies to increase their efforts to stop schemes.

The government has the option of directing virtual service companies, organizations, or people to stop access to online criminal material or accounts, including scams, according to the Online Criminal Harms Act, they added.

The shared-responsibility model” may work as part of the broader set of upstream and downstream” anti-scam actions taken on by the government and businesses, the regulators said.

The MAS, for instance, is studying the feasibility of” stronger, out-of-band authentication solutions”, such as the use of&nbsp, Fast IDentity Online ( FIDO ) -compliant tokens to enhance defences against unauthorised phishing transactions.

IMDA stated that it has and will remain to collaborate with the telecom companies. Over 20 million SMSes have been blocked since 2023 as a result of actions like the compulsory SMS Sender ID Registry and anti-scam screen.

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Digital Lives Decoded report highlights 66% Malaysians believe govt is responsible for online safety

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  • 56.8 %   think service providers should also accept responsibility for online safety.
  • Private dilemma: despite user privacy concerns, convenience is still a top priority.

Håkon Bruaset Kjøl, SVP head of investment management and deputy CEO of Telenor Asia, and Kulani Kulasingam, privacy and compliance director of Telenor Asia.

This study provides a useful snapshot of Malaysians ‘ existing digital behaviors and attitudes, which can serve as a resource for policymakers, organizations, and individuals on emerging growth opportunities and strategies to create a smarter and safer electronic future. Hkon Bruaset Kjl, SVP mind of investment management and assistant Director of Telenor Asia, said.

Hkon was speaking in KL yesterday when Telenor Asia released its report, which examines how wireless connectivity is creating safer and smarter lives in Malaysia, as well as a thorough analysis of how relational AI is used and used. It has released the record for the next time since its first release in October 2022.

The statement is based on a study that Telenor Asia’s research firm, GWI, was asked to carry out in August 2024. GWI has a collection of over 22 million online users worldwide, and selected 17, 117 Indonesian computer users for its monthly studies with questions remaining the same from Q3 and Q4 2023, and Q1 and Q2 2024. This sample size was designated as the” GWI core.” &nbsp,

Relying on GWI’s recontact methodology, 1, 004 Malaysian respondents ( aged 16-64 ) were interviewed from June 24 to July 13 2024. Respondents who have completed the core survey within the previous year can be contacted again using GWI’s recontact method to request more surveys.
 

AI in Indonesian culture

Digital Lives Decoded report highlights 66% Malaysians believe govt is responsible for online safety

Three out of four people who responded have used AI in their everyday lives already have one, which is encouraging in terms of its impact on society.

“Education is one of the areas we are most enthusiastic about, because the use of AI in schooling suggests a pretty strong potential for it to perform a crucial role in making education more accessible and adaptable to individual learning wants,” Hön said.

More than 1 in 2 Malaysians ( 55 % ) are excited about the possibilities and efficiency that AI can bring to their daily lives, with a significant focus on its ability to solve problems, the way research is conducted, and created.

But, people’s faith in AI-generated information is divided, especially with economic and health guidance, inviting incredulity. &nbsp,

Growing amounts of user data will be collected as Malaysia moves toward a future in which AI-integrated products will automate tasks and provide highly personalized activities. So, Malaysian respondents highlight concerns about possible misuse of private data and the spread of misinformation and emphasize responsible use and building trust. &nbsp,

According to the investigation, people need to have faith in the online world to maximize the advantages of digital technologies. When it comes to establishing this respect and providing people with knowledge and tools to better defend themselves website, organizations and individuals have a shared accountability.

Who’s accountable for online security- the consumer or the government?

Digital Lives Decoded report highlights 66% Malaysians believe govt is responsible for online safety

Nearly two-thirds ( 66 % ) of Malaysian respondents agree that the government is ultimately in charge of ensuring online safety, which is in line with public demands for more stringent regulatory oversight. This is demonstrated by the clear message that responsibility does not lie with users. &nbsp, &nbsp,

Service providers, such as businesses and telecoms companies, are also seen as essential people, particularly for the older years. &nbsp,

Telenor has also taken initiative by contributing and adopting the telco-centric roadmap framework called the Global System for Mobile Communications Association ( GSMA ) responsible AI maturity roadmap. Its affiliated businesses, such as Axiata Bhd, have even adopted it.

Telenor has also signed the EU AI Act, making the voluntary commitment to begin formulating requirements prior to the date.

Kulani Kulasingam, privacy and compliance director of Telenor Asia said,” We collaborate to share knowledge and lead implementation, establishing ourselves as a thought leader in this space, our goal is to build global norms well before the act comes into effect” ,&nbsp,

This implies that we have developed a set of rules for ourselves that serve as guardrails for the way we want to develop AI use situations, and that you must first establish them in advance or it will be too soon when you begin to deploy, according to Hkon.

Women’s opinions on who is accountable for paving the way to a safer practice are still divided. More than half ( 56.8 % ) of people think service providers should also bear responsibility for online safety, while only half ( 47.1 % ) think that self-responsibility is a top priority. &nbsp,

Håkon said,” It is clear that a collaborative approach to online safety is needed, by prioritising education, awareness, and holding high standards around responsible technology, together we can create a more secure digital landscape that empowers all Malaysians to thrive confidently in the digital age” .&nbsp,

The private paradox

Digital Lives Decoded report highlights 66% Malaysians believe govt is responsible for online safety

A large majority of Malaysians are actively improving the security on their mobile devices or have plans to do so in the future, with 97 % using at least one protection feature, such as using private browsing style, an ad-blocker, or VPN.

Almost 4 in 10 Malaysians are still concerned about how companies use their personalized data online despite the widespread use of private tools. Online security has remained the exact level of concern for the past five years, according to &nbsp, &nbsp,

People still want pleasure in living in an AI-connected world because they are aware of how AI can make a smarter and safer world. &nbsp,

As much as those who are concerned about their data privacy when considering AI plugins are also more likely to think that AI may improve the efficiency of their mobile devices and get excited about the potential benefits it may offer.

1 in 2 Malay anticipate that AI clever devices will provide better stability and better data privacy settings, while 55 % believe that AI can improve mobile efficiency. &nbsp,

This highlights a privacy paradox: people care about their privacy but are n’t willing to give up the comforts of allowing technology to track them. &nbsp, &nbsp, &nbsp,

Despite this, there are serious concerns about digital threats, with financial fraud being the most pressing issue, followed by identification theft, data breaches, and heavy fakes. 3 in 4 also worry about the safety of their virtual accounts, and 2 in 3 also believe they lack control over their personal information. &nbsp,

Phishing is also a shared concern, especially among Generation Z ( aged 16-27 ).

Malaysians actively work to enhance virtual security

Hkon is optimistic that the advantages of wireless connectivity outweigh the drawbacks, pointing out ways that AI can benefit culture in the future.

The benefits clearly outweigh the risks, according to the review, which Malaysians claim are usually aware of.

Indonesian interviewees value being able to stay in touch with loved ones, having easy access to information, having fun in their own lives, and experiencing increased productivity and efficiency in their day-to-day lives. Additionally, they feel more secure using a cellular phone. &nbsp,

The top benefit, followed by features like GPS and navigation apps that aid in avoiding dangerous areas and sharing their location with family and friends, is the ability to quickly call for assistance in emergencies, according to 70 %. &nbsp,

Women appear to prioritize online safety and security as important as the convenience of the cellular phone, placing a premium on safe mobile payments and security features that safeguard personal information, while people appear to prioritize sharing their physical locations. &nbsp,

Digital Lives Decoded report highlights 66% Malaysians believe govt is responsible for online safety

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Spiraling US debt a golden opportunity for China – Asia Times

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China is steadily establishing itself as a significant participant in the recently-named Global South, which was formerly known as the Non-Aligned Motion. Over the last few years, China has become the country’s biggest bank of developing countries. Many people are concerned about using the debt trap to subdue partners and create a “hegemonic sphere of influence” as a result.

China’s financial standing is such that it is now viewed as the biggest risk to the US dollar. It is an important part of the BRICS party ( which also includes Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa ). This team is attempting to create a unipolar world that challenges the West’s identity, particularly the United States ‘ management.

Without using the name” threat”, the US leadership now sees China as the “most major long-term concern” to the global order. Given that China’s corporate goal is to stop the dominance of the US dollar, the foundation of US hegemony, it is simple to understand why.

I am studying the role China is playing in the de-dollarization of the world as a scientist in global political economy at the Université Laval.

Money stronghold

The power of the US dollar supports American identity in the current international order, as French scholar Denis Durand explains in his content” Guerre monétaire militaire: l’hégémonie du money contestée”? ( International forex war: the economy’s identity challenged? ).

American currency is used in many Third World and Eastern European nations, where it enjoys a much higher level of public trust than local currencies, in addition to the point that some currencies are linked to the money by a fixed connection or group of variation. The only nation in the world that is levy foreign bill in its own currency is the United States.

The US dollar’s overrepresentation in the country’s central bankers ‘ foreign exchange reserves reflects its hegemony over the world market. Even though this has weakened, the dollar continues to outperform another assets.

The promote of the US dollar in the standard property of the country’s central banks is still roughly steady at around 58-59 % despite a 12 percent point decline between 1999 and 2021.

The US dollar continues to inspire a lot of confidence around the world, strengthening its position as the world’s dominant reserve currency. On the US investment industry, the country’s central bankers ‘ US dollars resources are invested in US Treasury bills, which lower the cost of financing both government loan and personal expenditure in the country.

However, the US economy may lose money if the identity of the dollar did. When Durand asserts that” the economic hegemony of the United States is held up only by the assurance of financial agents around the world in the American money,” he makes this point.

There are two possible causes of a decline in the nation’s confidence in the US dollars.

First of all, as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated in an interview in April 2023, the US is firmly using its dollars as a tool to manipulate both its own enemies and some rebellious allies. This was eventually destroy the dollar’s hegemony.

On the other hand, the US loan situation, especially its unsustainability, is a source of concern that could change the economy’s attractiveness as a global reserve currency.

Unsustainable bill

Since 1944, and even more so since the Bretton Woods Agreement‘s enactment in 1959, the US dollars has been at the center of the global financial system.

The Bretton Woods system was based on both the metal and the franc, which was the only money that could be converted into gold. This conversionibility was set at a rate of US$ 35 per gram.

That changed on August 15, 1971, when Richard Nixon announced the close of the economy’s conversionibility into gold as a result of inflation and the growing disparities in the United States ‘ global economic ties.

The ability of the United States to accept debt to meet people expenditures was constrained by the dollar’s gold price. The United States could only lend in accordance with the volume of dollars in liquidity and its gold reserves under the gold-based system, where silver was the surety of the US dollar.

The US had free rein over its debt after abandoning the gold-based system. In 2023, the US public debt reached more than$ 33.4 trillion, nine times the country’s debt in 1990.

This astronomical figure continues to raise concerns about its long-term sustainability. As US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has pointed out US debt is growing faster than the economy, &nbsp, making it unsustainable&nbsp, in the long term.

Opportunity for China

China is obviously aware of this reality because it recently sold off all of its US debt. Between 2016 and 2023, China sold$ 600 billion worth of US bonds.

However, in August 2017 China was the United States ‘ largest creditor, ahead of Japan. It held more than$ 1.146 billion in US Treasuries, almost 20 % of the amount held by all foreign governments. Beijing is now the second-largest foreign holder of US debt, with a claim of around$ 816 billion.

It is undoubtedly no coincidence that Beijing first instituted its own gold pricing system in the yuan before delving into US bonds. In fact, on April 19, 2016, the Shanghai Gold Exchange, China’s operator for precious metals, unveiled on its website its first “fixed” daily benchmark for gold at 256.92 yuan per gram.

China’s plan to make gold a tangible guarantee of its currency includes this policy.

Gold for dollars

China is also selling its US bonds. According to the US Treasury, between March 2023 and March 2024, China sold off$ 100 billion in US Treasuries, on top of the$ 300 billion it had already sold off over the past decade.

The Middle Kingdom is now the top producer and consumer of gold, which has replaced roughly a quarter of the US Treasuries sold in ten years. Other central banks in emerging markets continue to buy gold, just like China’s central bank.

China’s appetite for gold was confirmed in 2010, when its gold reserves rose to 1, 054 tonnes, from around 600 tonnes in 2005. Ten years later, in 2020, its stock of gold had almost doubled again to nearly 2, 000 tonnes. By the end of 2023, with a gold reserve of 2, 235 tonnes, China will be the country with the sixth-largest gold reserve.

Gold allows China to store the profits from its enormous trade surpluses in its place of the dollar. Beijing is attempting to increase its currency’s use abroad with the help of the Shanghai Gold Exchange, which provides contracts for gold trading contracts in yuan. This will help establish the yuan as the world economy’s benchmark currency.

Zakaria Sorgho is senior fellow at FERDI &amp, ACET-Africa and research associate at CREATE, Université Laval

This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Senoko Energy and Gentari Collaborate on Hydrogen Importation in Singapore

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  • By 2029, a 20-year provide deal will be in place.
  • Aims to reduce carbon emissions by estimate 18, 000 tonnes of CO2 relative

Left to Right: Calvin Quek, Senoko Energy’s head of Trading & Portfolio Management, Frederik Baerts, Senoko Energy’s president & CEO, Michèle Azalbert, chief hydrogen officer, Gentari, and Alex Bower, head, Global Marketing & Sales, Gentari

Senoko Energy, one of Singapore’s largest energy companies, announced a partnership with Gentari, a clean energy solutions provider, through a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU). This partnership aims to determine the viability of moving gas fuel from Malaysia to Singapore.

The initiative intends to incorporate the imported gas into Senoko Energy’s current and future mixed cycle gas turbine assets, improving both efficiency and economic performance. Under a proposed 20-year offer agreement, the gas is expected to begin flowing by 2029.

In the first phase of this project, Senoko Energy aims to reduce carbon emissions by roughly 18, 000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e ) annually. This decline is comparable to removing around 4, 000 vehicles from the streets. Potential aspects could potentially raise this decline to 535, 000 tCO2e, equal to about 119, 000 vehicles. This work is in line with Singapore’s regional strategy for gas and its goal of achieving net-zero pollution by 2050.

Frederik Baerts, leader &amp, CEO of Senoko Energy, expressed joy for the relationship:” Senoko Energy is really excited to be embarking on this association with Gentari, which represents a major step in our commitment to advancing the energy transition. We are taking a bold step forward toward creating a more sustainable energy landscape and low-carbon future because hydrogen has the potential to play a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions.

Through this collaboration, Gentari hopes to strengthen its position as a leading supplier of green molecules in Southeast Asia. Michèle Azalbert, chief hydrogen officer at Gentari, remarked on the significance of cross-border infrastructure:” This partnership with Senoko Energy is a key step in building a hydrogen backbone for Southeast Asia. As we promote the adoption of green hydrogen across the region, cross-border infrastructure like this pipeline connects production and demand centers.

This partnership is part of Senoko Energy’s broader strategy to support Singapore’s transition to a low-carbon future. In addition to these initiatives, SolarShare 2.0, Singapore’s first peer-to-peer grid-scale trading platform for solar energy, was signed with City Energy in a MoU in June 2023 that was focused on hydrogen opportunities.

Gentari is also actively developing Malaysia’s hydrogen economy through various initiatives. These include partnerships with Sarawak’s SEDC Energy to establish a hydrogen production hub and cooperation with Tenaga Nasional Berhad for feasibility studies on green hydrogen.

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Why more young Singaporeans are volunteering in ‘unfamiliar’ Laos

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Ms Kang from Singapore Polytechnic said the circumstance “forced us to consider on our feet, remain flexible and calm, and concentrate on non-verbal contact such as hand gestures, drawings, and demonstrations”.

Additionally, her team gained practical Thai expressions, which improved their host-host relationships and improved their kinship.

The rural schools were denied access to digital tools like Kahoot!, a game-based teaching software, and other language barriers.

Therefore, Mr. Soh’s group had to think outside the box to use the few resources at hand while engaging the students beyond books.

While learning about packaging, for example, students turned cheap containers into piggy banks and old papers into document pots.

The NUS group also made an additional impromptu by using layered report as a recycle whiteboard.

Ms. Yu, however, added that the ground in some Laosan regions also made transportation and logistics challenging for the YMCA’s volunteer teams, who then needed to turn to regional partners for assistance.

NOT ONE-OFF

According to Mr. Soh, Thai teachers have shown interest in adopting Malaysian methods to improve classroom life and make it more engaging through NUS’ Project Sabaidee.

In May 2025, the team will make a second trip it to establish a nursery in order to facilitate children’s smoother transition to the main school system.

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Nobel Prize endorses US abandonment of free markets – Asia Times

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The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, following a proposal by the Economic Sciences Prize Committee, awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A Robinson for their so-called “groundbreaking” operate on the part of corporations in shaping economic growth.

Their analysis reveals how industrial institutions contribute to regional failure while inclusive institutions contribute to economic growth. Elinor Ostrom and Oliver E. Williamson were honored for their groundbreaking efforts to financial management, especially those that concern how companies manage shared solutions and resolve conflicts, with this choice recalling the 2009 Nobel Prize.

By appointing a political scientist and an analyst to study these topics within corporations, the Nobel Committee in 2009 acknowledged the value of institutions and management. Also, the 2024 award reflects a move away from free-market finance, emphasizing rather how institutional systems and governance structures affect economic outcomes.

Why, especially in the wake of numerous economic and financial crises, has the Nobel Committee regularly favored non-economic ideas over standard economic models? Look no further than the constraints the Nobel collection commission good faced given the changing geopolitical environment.

The decision to award Ostrom and Williamson in 2009 was primarily motivated by the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008, when Western free-market beliefs were subject to intense scrutiny.

The long-held conviction that areas allocate resources effectively, resulting in products and services at the lowest rates, maximum profits for producers, and no tool wastage, was demonstrated to be fundamentally flawed.

Alan Greenspan, a steadfast supporter of liberal economic theory and the US Federal Reserve’s longest-serving chair, reportedly admitted during a parliamentary hearing that he had mistakenly assumed that resources would be distributed effectively.

According to Greenspan,” a crucial pillar of business rivals and completely markets did collapse.” ” I still do not completely comprehend why it happened”.

Given that choosing a free-market economist would have been socially indefensible in the context of the time’s economic collapse, Ostrom and Williamson’s collection was more of a need than a decision.

In 2024, the selection committee experienced a similar position. In recent years, the West has gradually abandoned the principles of free-market economy and completely industry in the face of China’s state-led and subsidy-fed economic giant.

Traditional economic theory contends that grants harm free areas because they cause a disconnect between prices and production costs, distorting marketplaces, leading to wasteful outcomes, and directing resources to less productive activities. Additionally, trade protectionism is viewed as a business displacement that results in errors and misallocations.

But, US President Joe Biden’s financial plans have evidently departed from free-market rules. His trade policies have led to the most extraordinary protectionism in British history, while his professional policies have been characterized by big government intervention, including strong subsidies, tax breaks, and low credit.

The Research and Development, Competition and Innovation Act, the CHIPS &amp, Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act ( IRA ), are important pieces of legislation that offer American businesses significant tax breaks and subsidies. The Biden administration has also instituted a” Buy America” policy for government procurement, a serious violation of World Trade Organization ( WTO ) agreements.

These lending terms and advantageous terms for US businesses highlight Biden’s support for mercantilist trade practices. This includes preserving Trump-era taxes on foreign goods, local material needs, and disciplinary measures against alleged foreign dumping in US marketplaces.

Ironically, the United States has imposed tariffs of up to 100 % on Chinese-made electric vehicles ( EVs ), far exceeding the tariffs under the Smoot– Hawley Tariff Act of the 1930s, which imposed a maximum tariff of about 62 %.

In an April 27, 2023 statement at the Brookings Institution, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan outlined the Biden administration’s monetary policy, attributing many of the region’s challenges—such as a hollowed-out manufacturing base, economic inequality, China’s fall and the weather crisis—to prior economic policies.

Sullivan criticized “hyperglobalization”, deregulation and blind faith in trickle-down economics and market efficiency. He argued that the goal of liberalizing trade was to achieve nothing more than its broad-results.

The US Treasury, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank led the effort to promote free markets and trade liberalization in the 1990s, which was a significant departure from the” Washington Consensus.”

Sullivan made it clear that Bidenomics does not rely on the free-market theory that the West once proclaimed as superior to other economic systems. There was a presumption at the heart of all of this regulation: that markets always allocate capital productively and efficiently, no matter what our competitors did, no matter how much our shared challenges grew, and no matter how many guardrails we erected,” Sullivan said.

” Now, no one—certainly not me—is discounting the power of markets. But in the name of oversimplified market efficiency, entire supply chains of strategic goods —along with the industries and jobs that made them—moved overseas. And the postulate that a significant amount of trade liberalization would support American exports of goods was made but not kept was also true.

Regardless of the outcome of the 2024 presidential election in November, Sullivan’s remarks suggest that the United States is turning away from the market economy and adopting a more protectionist stance.

Through the seizure of Russian assets, which challenges the status of private ownership, the West has also undermined the sanctity of private property. These sanctions, including the freezing of assets and the expropriating of those held by Western banks by the Russian Central Bank, directly violate private property rights.

By politicizing economic assets and further undermining the principles of market-based economies, this unprecedented move sets a dangerous precedent. The US-led West has eroded the trust that global capital depends on because it blurs the lines between political retribution and economic governance.

This undermines the laissez-faire economic ideology and destabilizes the global economic order.

One of the biggest paradoxes of the first decade of the 21st century is that the United States, once the biggest supporter of free-market economics and free trade, is now implementing protectionist measures at a rate unobservable since the 1930s.

In essence, the US is putting national security before economic efficiency, and it rejects the notion that” the government is best when governs least.” Meanwhile, China’s Communist Party-led government has become the world’s leading advocate for free trade.

The Nobel Selection Committee de facto supported the West’s shift away from liberalization and globalization by awarding the Nobel Prize to institutions-focused economists. In this context, institutional economics justifies more government intervention in the economy to detriment free markets that were once supported by the US and the West.

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Commentary: Is underconsumption the new consumption? It depends

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LIVERPOOL: I am probably going to betray my age by saying this- I do n’t see why full-length socks are back in fashion, especially when wearing shorts. &nbsp,

It simply looks unusual, and even more so when combined with open-toe shoes. I’m told to pull up my socks, but I ca n’t because, well, they’re ankle-length.

This is more than just a lack of sense of style. It seems I’ve finally reached that point when the cai fan aunty calls me “uncle” ( no more” shuai ge” for you, Terence ), and conversations with friends turn to ElderShield, progressive spectacle lenses, and of course, whether we have enough money to retire.

The next place though, about having enough money, is certainly an generational problem. The older era concerns about retirement, but the younger generation usually worries about day-to-day success. Can they manage loan payments, rent, college fees, childcare, older care- or perhaps lunch? &nbsp,

This is not just a Taiwanese problem. In the face of rising living costs, a sizable portion of university students in the UK are putting in long part-time hours to supplement already insufficient tuition loans. This does n’t just affect their social life, but their learning journey as well.

And despite prices appearing to be sluggish everywhere and central bankers starting to lower interest rates, goods and services are still much more costly than they were a few years ago. People keep getting more anxious and also upset as a result of the price that items keep rising, like when Toast Box decides to raise the price of its kung bread set.

So it should come as no surprise that one of the newest developments on Tiktok is about finding ways to spend and eat less.

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