The coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic will have a huge and lasting negative effect on the global economy; 2020 and 2021 will be lost years in terms of growth, and the Economist Intelligence Unit expects the global economy to recover to pre-coronavirus levels only in 2022. However, this global forecast masks big disparities between countries. Some will recover quickly, whereas others will take up to four years to return to pre-coronavirus GDP levels (India Q4 2021, US Q3 2022, UK Q4 2023, Japan Q4 2024). China will be a rare exception, as we do not expect the country to enter a recession this year.
Even these discouraging data come with considerable downside risks, including the dreaded second waves of the coronavirus pandemic and a prolonged search for an effective vaccine or treatment; not forgetting some of the other headwinds that we were already facing at the turn of the year, including the US-China trade war.
All of which makes for an extremely challenging operating environment; one that is nicely summarised by a phrase recently coined by The Economist: "the 90% economy".
More than ever, business leaders need reliable, timely information and strong networks to support their difficult decision making.
So at this critical juncture for the global economy, we invite you to join us and our panel of economists and commentators for our Regional Strategic Forecast as we discuss:
Keynote speaker
Dr Simon Baptist, Global Chief Economist & Editorial Director, The Economist Intelligence Unit
Please note that this event is limited to senior-level executives and per invitation only. If you are not an existing member of The Economist Corporate Network, but would like to learn how you can attend our events, please contact us.
Editorial Director and Chief Economist of The Economist Intelligence Unit
CFO, APAC at Kimberly-Clark Corporation
President South East Asia Oceania at Richemont Luxury (Singapore) Pte Ltd, (Montblanc)
President, Asean & Korea at Essilor AMERA Pte Ltd
Head, Asia Pacific Innovation Center at DHL
General Manager, Industrial Coatings, Asia Pacific; and Managing Director, South-east Asia of PPG Coatings (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
Director, Hong Kong of The Economist Corporate Network