From the Desk of the Executive Director

ICA board member John Findley has been doing business in China continuously for some 30 years. He’s been saying for ages that China’s growth is not going to stop. Here’s my analysis from a recent conference in Macau.

All those Western market analysts who are worried about, and reacting negatively to, the ‘slow down’ in China perhaps need a good lesson in reading Chinese economic tea leaves. I received such a lesson in Macau last week when attending the International Small Business Pan Asia Congress.  More...

Macroeconomic data from China has economic analysts worried that China has shifted into a lower economic growth phase. This has contributed to a decline in ore and other commodity prices around the globe. In turn, this has resulted in a view (a new consensus!) that Australia’s strong economic position based on the minerals sector is under threat. More...

There's more to the Ford closure story than at first appears.

In fact, there's a monster truck crashing over the bonnets of the car manufacturing industry in Australia.  Unfortunately, no one seems capable of stopping its destructive progress. Sitting in the driver's seat are Australia's manufacturing unions shouting loud about 'workers' rights'.  These unions share a big part of the blame for the industry's progressive decline and job losses. More...

"Rising to the Global Challenge: Entrepreneurship and SME development in Asia"

Some reflections on a regional small business conference held in the capital of Laos, Vientiane. November 2012.

Last week I attended a regional small business conference in the capital of Laos, Vientiane. Friendly people. Great value for money! Lao culture very much alive! If you visit, I’d recommend riding a bicycle around town. It’s dead flat with lots of interesting side streets, restaurants, temples and so on. The traffic appears slightly chaotic but in fact moves at a surprisingly gentle, courteous pace.  More...