One of the most oft-repeated axioms of Asian geopolitics is that there won’t be a new war on the Korean Peninsula because neither North and South Korea nor their principal backers (China and the US) want it to happen. The South and the US will not attack the North because that would lead to a [Read more...]

Offshore gas industry is set for change and with it, the fortunes of the governments, companies and consumers connected to it. The harbinger of change is the floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel, a technology that will allow producers to commercialise offshore gas deposits without pipelines and onshore infrastructure. A ship comes along, taps [Read more...]

One thing which I believe is becoming increasingly likely is a third nuclear test by North Korea. Last May, when North Korea tested its second nuke, I suggested that the entire nuclear dispute had taken on the feeling of one too many a season of ‘24’ – i.e. it had lost the ability to shock [Read more...]

US President Barack Obama, en route to ‘Asia’ (I use the speech marks, because Asia is so diverse and it is inaccurate to consider it a single entity), has no shortage of issues to deal with when he gets there. There seems to be a general feeling that US influence in Asia is on the [Read more...]

If emerging markets (EMs) are to dominate the 21st century, as many reasonably expect, then they will need to capture the world’s imagination, not just that of businesses and investors. To this end, ‘soft power’ will become increasingly important. ‘Soft power’ is an essential element of global branding, and in this case, I am talking [Read more...]

The North Korean nuclear crisis has been going on for so long now, and has become so repetitive, that like various US high-suspense TV dramas such as ‘24’ and ‘Lost’, it is losing its ability to shock. The cast of characters changes slightly, but the themes and events are fairly constant. (The only real shock [Read more...]

With Q1 2009 GDP data emerging, many people are asking, ‘is this the bottom of the current recession?’

My point of view is that if Q1 2009 is not the bottom, then H1 2009 (i.e. the first half of 2009) probably is.

In this regard, there have been some encouraging signs in Asia. The pace [Read more...]