A tale of two cities: Tokyo boom and Beijing gloom
After three decades of rapid growth China has hit a rough patch, with a sluggish economy, high youth unemployment and testy relations with the U.S. and a number of Western countries. Meanwhile Japan after years in the deep freeze appears to be regaining some of the economic dynamism it lost three decades. Although obstacles remain such as a shrinking and aging population, Japan is enjoying a cultural and tourism boom. What is the future shape of Asia and where are the best opportunities for young people?
Duncan Clark
Founder, investor and leading advisor on technology, finance and entrepreneurship, Duncan has lived and worked in Asia for over thirty years. Duncan is Chairman of BDA, an Asia-focused investment advisory firm he founded in 1994 after four years as an investment banker with Morgan Stanley. From his home in Tokyo, Duncan draws on his three decades advising investors in technology and innovation to assess the impact of the fast-growing geopolitical fault lines distancing China from many of its traditional trading partners. Duncan’s 2016 book ‘Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built’ chronicled the rise of China’s Internet sector and entrepreneurial class and was named a Book of the Year by The Economist and short-listed for Business Book of the Year by the Financial Times/McKinsey. Recently appointed to the board of councillors of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Duncan is a founding member of Asia Society Japan and a global trustee of the Asia Society.
Duncan is an alumnus of the British Section of the Lycée International, Saint-Germain-en-Laye.