Invested: The OMFIF Podcast

In recent months, unresolved trade issues and the Covid-19 pandemic have resulted in heightened tensions between the US and China. James McGregor, chairman of APCO Worldwide and a former chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, and Andy Rothman, investment strategist at Matthews Asia, discuss economic and political developments in US-China relations, their roles in the world economy, and what the conflict could mean for global growth. 

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All eyes are on Japan following Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's abrupt resignation. The departing leader is known for his aggressive economic reform policy, Abenomics, which helped pull the country out of a decades-long deflationary slump. Jun Saito, senior research fellow at the Japanese Centre for Economic Research, and Kotaro Tamura, adjunct professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and formerly a member of Japan's House of Councillors and parliamentary secretary for economic and fiscal policy, discuss the outlook for the Japanese economy, and priorities for the country's next leader.

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James Blair, investment director of fixed income at Capital Group, joins OMFIF’s Pierre Ortlieb to talk about the state of US investment-grade bond markets. They discuss how these markets have performed during the Covid-19 crisis, what central bank policy innovation means for corporate bonds, and issues regarding liquidity and market structure.

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Vijak Sethaput, senior developer for the Bank of Thailand's Project Inthanon, and Sky Guo, chief executive officer of Cypherium, join Chris Ostrowski, commercial director at OMFIF, to discuss the Bank of Thailand’s experiment. They talk about how blockchain can influence central bank digital currency design choices and enable interoperability. Further topics include how a distributed system could solve liquidity issues between commercial banks, and whether central banks will adopt new infrastructure for cross-border payments. 

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Ahead of the European Central Bank monetary policy announcement on 10 September, Lars Feld, chair of the German Council of Economic Experts, and Geoff Yu, foreign exchange and macro strategist for Europe, Middle East and Africa at BNY Mellon Markets, join OMFIF's Ellie Groves to talk about inflation targets and the economic outlook for the euro area, and how these will impact fiscal and monetary policy. They also discuss the implications for the market and map out possible paths to policy normalisation.

 

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Countries each face their own distinct set of problems as a result of the pandemic. The International Monetary Fund must therefore take many considerations into account in its handling of the global economic downturn. Antoinette Sayeh, deputy managing director of the IMF, joins Mark Sobel for a discussion on the IMF’s response to the crisis and ways forward for the months and years ahead.

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Following the launch of the seventh annual Global Public Investor, Stephen Gilmore, chief investment officer of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, joins Mark Burgess, OMFIF Asia chairman, to discuss long-term approaches to asset ownership, asset allocation and the impact of Covid-19 on portfolios.

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As the Covid-19 pandemic spreads across the US, affecting public health and the economy, the Federal Reserve is holding rates near zero and taking steps to ensure global dollar liquidity. Lewis Alexander, chief economist at Nomura, joins Mark Sobel, US chairman of OMFIF, to discuss the Fed’s policy decision, concerns about the US economy, and the role of monetary and fiscal policy in managing the crisis.

 

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Liu Xiaoming, Chinese ambassador to the UK, joins David Marsh, OMFIF chairman, to discuss world trading relationships. They focus on the growing tensions between the US and China, the UK's decision to ban Huawei from its 5G networks, Hong Kong protests, and Taiwan. 

 

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In the second edition of the OMFIF-KPMG Asia podcast series, Jingdong Hua, vice-president and treasurer of the World Bank Group, joins KPMG’s Mina Sekiguchi and OMFIF’s Kat Usita to discuss sustainable infrastructure and the pandemic's impact on the green transition. What role will infrastructure play in the ‘green recovery’? What are the challenges in the green energy transition? How can infrastructure development support climate resilience and other sustainability goals? In the midst of Covid-19 disruption, how can we ensure a sustainable digital environment?

 

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