https://www.scmp.com/rss/312802/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com With investors’ eyes fixated on the volatile Chinese economy to drive global growth in 2016, a less observed regional dynamic warrants attention. The four “Asian tigers” – Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan – which burst on to the global economic scene in the 1970s and 1980s, are struggling. Indeed, as 2016 forecasts were released, one common thread emerged: below-trend growth in the four economies that used to be key economic engines in the region. The ultimate fate of the Asian... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1904884/asias-ailing-tigers-need-change-their-ageing-economic-model?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1904884/asias-ailing-tigers-need-change-their-ageing-economic-model?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Jan 2016 06:58:59 +0000 A consensus exists that Hong Kong is on the cusp of or will soon have an acute “elderly problem”. Recent statistics released by the Commission on Poverty offer one dimension of this potential problem: the number of elderly living below the poverty line notably increased by more than 8,000 from a year ago, while the overall number of individuals living in poverty decreased. A problem of ageing calls for a radical rethink of how key services, such as health care and housing, are delivered Although... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1883166/hong-kong-has-problem-population-ageing-rather-elderly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1883166/hong-kong-has-problem-population-ageing-rather-elderly?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Nov 2015 07:04:52 +0000 China faces an increasing number of economic policy challenges. Indeed, as Chinese markets have continued their vertiginous spasms, the lack of a long-term investor base, coupled with reduced government support, has resulted in further losses. At the same time, a slowing economy has raised concerns that China's necessary transition from an investment-based economy to one based on consumption may be stalling. At first glance, these problems may seem tangentially linked, especially with roughly 2... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1857168/pension-reform-can-help-china-realise-its-vision-economic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1857168/pension-reform-can-help-china-realise-its-vision-economic?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Sep 2015 01:18:47 +0000 Amid the diplomatic pageantry and sartorial tragedy of the recent Apec conference, a short announcement last Monday set off a figurative earthquake in Taiwan: China and South Korea had signed an outline free-trade agreement. Indeed, although many observers expected the pact would eventually be signed, few foresaw the early arrival date. In Taiwan, the news catalysed a firestorm of debate: for pessimists, it was yet another sign that the island's figurative economic sky was falling while, for... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1645563/taiwans-trade-dilemma-amid-flurry-regional-pacts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1645563/taiwans-trade-dilemma-amid-flurry-regional-pacts?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Nov 2014 21:17:59 +0000 Latent economic anxiety typically manifests itself in strange ways. The broadcast of the Korean television drama, My Love from the Star, which tells of an alien who came to earth and fell in love with an actress, is a case in point. The television series has besieged Taiwan: from fans obsessively commenting on the internet to newspapers debating the pathology of Taiwan's K-pop obsession, the show's popularity has struck an existential chord. Indeed, the raucous debate has in a way intruded into... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1444588/taiwan-must-look-beyond-korea-draw-its-economic-road-map?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1444588/taiwan-must-look-beyond-korea-draw-its-economic-road-map?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Mar 2014 18:47:11 +0000