AFTF 2020
Which companies are the post-COVID winners?
The companies embracing the future economy – and its digital, sustainable tenets – are the ones holding up best at the dawn of the post-COVID recovery. And that’s good news for the global economy over the long term, according to Ian Bremmer, the founder and president of Eurasia Group and GZero Media.
Speaking as part of the virtual ANZ Finance & Treasury Forum 2020, Bremmer said it is the old economy which is finding it tougher as COVID continues to reshape global trade.
“The companies, the sectors that have been hit [by COVID-19] are the ones that are least-focused on innovation,” he said. “It’s the parts of the economy that are least-orientated towards 21st-century technology.”
“Those that are allowing the digital economy to grow, those that are allowing the sustainable economy to grow, those that are allowing the knowledge economy to grow, [and] those that are oriented toward the 21st century are the ones that are doing the best.”
Had a similar disaster hit the more-modern parts of the economy, according to Bremmer, the impact would be much worse for the long-term prospects of recovery.
He said the state of global geopolitics meant backwards-looking institutions are holding a lot of power.
“At least [the crisis is] actually putting more money in the hands of institutions that can do the most to respond to the next crises down the road,” Bremmer said.
ANZ Finance & Treasury Forum 2020
In 2020, the ANZ Finance and Treasury Forum went virtual, looking ahead to the new decade and the opportunities for senior finance and treasury professionals across Asia Pacific and beyond.
The market-leading event, featuring a host of international thought leaders, picked apart the themes currently dominating markets, analysed the outlook in an uncertain time and provided insights into a truly unprecedented era for doing business.
All of our ANZ Forum 2020 sessions are now available on demand. Please contact your ANZ representative if you did not attend and would like to experience the event in full.
Uncertain
Bremmer said the world is in the midst of an enormously uncertain geopolitical environment, and while COVID had played a part, the core ingredients were already in place before that.
He said economic interdependency between the US and China will ensure the trade relationship between the two nations will not deteriorate too far in the medium term, with the exception of in the tech sector, which he described as a “cold war”.
With the US election looming, Bremmer said it looks like Democratic candidate Joe Biden is favoured to win but warned, regardless of result, it will be an “ugly and uncertain” time.
“The coronavirus pandemic means this election is going to be historically unusual and hard to manage,” he said.
Shane White is Content Manager at ANZ Institutional
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