ECCT Next Generation Business & Leaders Series
Premium Event

Geopolitical and global supply chain trends shaping the global economy in 2022

Guest speakers
Vincent Shih, Assistant General Counsel of Microsoft and General Manager of Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs, Microsoft Taiwan
Arati Shroff, Deputy Chief, Economic Section, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT)

Panel moderator
H Henry Chang, Chairman, ECCT

Date: Tuesday, 17 May 2022
Time: 12:00-14:00
Venue: Grand Hyatt Hotel, 2F, The Residence / 台北君悅酒店二樓凱寓
Address: No. 2, Songshou Rd, Xinyi District, Taipei City / 台北市信義區松壽路2號
This is an off the record event and not for attribution

Global corporations are belatedly realising that over-dependency on a single supplier or country for any commodity or component pose a severe risk to sustainability. But how far will supply chain restructuring go? What does the shift from just in time to just in case business models mean for the holding of additional inventories? Will recent events help to build partnership opportunities between likeminded countries and benefit Taiwan in particular? At this event, our speakers will discuss ongoing economic trends and post-pandemic economic prospects in the new reality.

Background:
2022 began with a sense of optimism that the world was finally emerging from the shadow of the global coronavirus pandemic. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February has presented another unanticipated challenge to the global economy that had not yet recovered from Covid-related disruptions. The World Bank has warned that up to a dozen developing countries, which account for 40% of global GDP, face increased risk of debt defaults in the coming year as the war in Ukraine boosts commodity prices and adds to existing Covid-19 pandemic-related pressures.

In the corporate world, worries about geopolitical conflicts now exceed executives' concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic while overall economic optimism continues to decline, according to the March 2022 McKinsey Global Survey on economic conditions. According to the quarterly survey, 57% of all executives cite global geopolitical conflicts as a risk to near-term growth in their own economies, followed by inflation (38%), volatile energy prices (33%) and supply chain disruptions (31%). For the first time in two years, the Covid-19 pandemic was cited by only 11% of respondents as a risk. 

In late March, Larry Fink, head of BlackRock, warned that "the Russian invasion of Ukraine has put an end to the globalisation we have experienced over the last three decades". Countries in Europe are now trying to diversity their over-dependence on one country, Russia, for natural gas.

About the speakers:
Vincent Shih is Assistant General Counsel of Microsoft and GM of Microsoft Taiwan Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs (CELA) team. In addition to sitting in Microsoft Asia CELA Leadership Team, serving as CELA Asia Sustainability co-Lead and supporting Microsoft GCR Marketing and Operation Group, he also serves as Taiwan Branch General Manager for LinkedIn and is active in community affairs. Prior to joining Microsoft in the year 2000, he worked for Baker McKenzie in Taipei and San Diego. He holds an LLB degree from National Taiwan University, an LLM from UC Berkeley and an EMBA degree from National ChengChi University. 

Arati Shroff is a career US diplomat and is currently the Deputy Economic Chief at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in Taipei, where she manages a dynamic team to advance US-Taiwan cooperation across supply chains, cybersecurity, innovation, trade, environment, and health. She was recently posted to Hawaii as an Una Chapman Cox Fellow and East-West Center Adjunct Fellow, where she advised the US Indo-Pacific Command on Asia foreign and economic policy. In previous assignments, she has served in the US Consulate in Shanghai, the Washington, DC Department of State's Bureau of South and Central Asia, and at the US Embassy in Kuwait. Prior to her diplomatic career, she worked in investment banking in Hong Kong and New York. She earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees at Johns Hopkins University.

Cost: NT$1,600 for members and NT$2,200 for members' guest(s)

Please note that participation may be limited based on Covid-19 restrictions at the time of the event.

To cancel without penalty, written cancellations must be received 24 hours prior to the event.

Contact: Angela Hsiao Tel: 2740-0236 ext. 226 / angela.hsiao@ecct.com.tw