Asia’s economic outlook 2027: Navigating growth, risk and uncertainty
Dr Marty Natalegawa, former Indonesian Foreign Minister
Taimur Baig, Global CFO Network Honorary Advisor, and Chief Economist, DBS Bank
Ziad Haider, Partner and Global Director of Geopolitics, McKinsey & Company
Chris Leahy, Co-Founder and Asia Pacific Managing Partner, Barbican Advisory
No surprises that as we enter another year, uncertainty lies ahead, along with opportunity. To that end, we’ve invited a distinguished panel to discuss what lies ahead, and what we can do about it. We’ll be joined by former Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, Global CFO Network Honorary Advisor and DBS Bank Chief Economist Taimur Baig, McKinsey & Company Partner and Global Director of Geopolitics Ziad Haider, and Barbican Advisory Asia Pacific Managing Partner Chris Leahy to share their perspective on growth and risk. Taimur will outline the new year’s economnic trajectory., while we’ve asked Marty and Ziad will discuss how geopolitical tensions, economic fragmentation, and technological competition are reshaping the global landscape. Chris will look at how you can spin risk to your advantage, reviewing M&A activity across the region, and discussing how multinationals can better understand the environment and local partners they work with. Marty is a distinguished diplomat who was Indonesian Foreign Minister from 2009-2014, having previously been Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Indonesia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Taimur leads macroeconomic research at DBS Bank, providing strategic insights across Asia and global markets. He previously held senior roles at the International Monetary Fund and Deutsche Bank, and is widely recognised for his analysis of emerging markets and policy trends, not to mention his popular podcast, Kopi Time. Ziad advises leading corporations and public institutions on geopolitical risk, global strategy, and the evolving relationship between business and government. Prior to joining McKinsey, he held senior roles at the US State Department. Chris co-founded Barbican, a global corporate intelligence and investigations firm with Asia Pacific offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai.
Malaysia: where to invest, and what to expect
Tony Pua, Policy Advisor to the Secretary-General, Democratic Action Party
In Global CFO Network member polling, Malaysia consistently rates highly as an investment destination. The reason is simple: it has spent the past two years pushing through the kind of fiscal changes many governments in the region have deferred, including targeted fuel subsidies, a broader sales and service tax, mandatory e-invoicing, and an industrial policy built around semiconductors, data centres and the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone. The big question is whether Malaysia can continue reform, matched with relative political stability, or whether it will fall back into bad fiscal habits. To help us analyse Malaysia’s position, we’ll be joined by Tony Pua, Policy Advisor to Democratic Action Party Secretary-General Anthony Loke. The DAP is the single-largest party in Malaysia’s governing Pakatan Harapan coalition. Tony - who is also Chair of the party’s Disciplinary Committee - served as Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara and then Damansara from 2008 to 2022, and as Political Secretary to the Minister of Finance from 2018 to 2020, a period that covered both 1MDB reckoning and the reconstruction of federal finances. Tony also has extensive business experience, having founded a listed company and is well-placed to explain how Malaysia is addressing the economic challenges of the coming decade.
Getting the best out of your body: how to drive your own performance
Alex Mearns, Founder, Levitise, personal trainer and coach
Agnes Lim, Chief Financial Officer Asia Pacific, NTT Data
Lars Daene, Chief Financial Officer Southeast Asia, Adidas
CFOs operate under sustained pressure, yet few treat their own physical and mental capacity with the same rigour they apply to the businesses they run. This session will examine the practical disciplines that underpin sustained executive performance: what to eat, how to train, and how to manage stress without letting it manage you. Alex Mearns leads personal training, nutrition and mindset coaching group Levitise, working exclusively with senior executives to get the best out of their bodies and minds. His own career in finance left him overweight, pre-diabetic and burnt out; following a visit to the doctor, he decided to turn his life around. He will share on what he actually sees in this executive cohort, before handing over to a facilitated conversation with two CFOs from the network: Agnes Lim of NTT Data and Lars Daene of Adidas, both of whom use exercise regimes to maintain their fitness and performance. This will be a frank discussion of what you can do to generate positive outcomes from diet, exercise and mindset training, with our panel talking about how they build an exercise routine into their schedules, what they do to ensure they’re eating right, and how they manage the demands of travel.
Members may attend with a member of their Finance team. Luncheon and light refreshments will be served.