SNS: Asia Letter, Q3 2019: A New Era

 

In This Issue Week of 6/24/2019 Vol. 24 Issue 21

Asia Letter, Q3 2019: A New Era o   Quotes of Note o   令和 - A New Era in Japan o   Dr. Mahathir Gets a Discount o   Rare-Earths Processing in Malaysia o   Rare-Earths Survey in China o   Singapore: First Stop on the Belt and Road o   Grad Students Talk About the Belt and Road o   Ambassador Wu Meets the Press o   Sri Lanka Diversifies Its Infrastructure o   Nidec CEO Nagamori on the Future of Manufacturing o   Electric Buick in China o   NXP and Hawkeye o   Asia No Longer Your Garbage Dump o   Tightening the Screws on Plastic Waste o   In Accordance with the Rules of Nature o   Solid Environmental Progress o   Japanese Names o   About Scott Foster Inside SNS Upcoming SNS Events o   Future in Review 2019 o   Where's Mark?

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FiRe 2019 Speaker Spotlight

Bob Flores is a co-founder and partner of Cognitio Corp., a strategic consulting and engineering firm established by a team of former senior technology executives from the US intelligence community. Cognitio, which remains committed to national security, works with clients across multiple sectors of the economy. It's a focus for which Bob is uniquely qualified.

Formerly the president and CEO of IT consulting firm Applicology Inc., Bob spent 31 years at the Central Intelligence Agency, where he served as the Agency's first enterprise CTO. In addition to senior-level leadership and management positions, Bob's career has included assignments in applications programming, training and education, contract and project management, and both line and staff management roles. He currently serves on the boards of, and is a consultant to, a variety of technology companies.

We're delighted to welcome Bob to the stage at Future in Review 2019 to discuss China's investment in automobiles as a strategic national asset and the implications for the international autonomous electric vehicle market.

Learn more about FiRe 2019
and register here.

Asia Letter, Q3 2019:

       A New Era

            by Scott Foster

Quotes of Note

"[The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership] has benefited tremendously Canadian citizens, Japanese citizens and businesses and indeed people throughout the region... continuing to move forward on freer more open trade, according to the rules we can all agree on, is something we need more in the world."

- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking at a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in Ottawa (Nikkei Asian Review, 4/29/19)

Note: The CPTPP is the original TPP minus the US.

 

"Many of today's greatest challenges are global and they can only be solved when we work together. That is why Canada stands united with its German, French, and Japanese friends [in the Alliance for Multilateralism]."

- Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland (The Canadian Press, 4/16/19)

The Alliance was announced by the foreign ministers of Germany and France at the beginning of April. Australia, India, Indonesia, and Mexico are also thought likely to join.

"In the 19th century, Japan imported rail technology from the UK. Now we are delivering trains [there] with a feeling of gratitude."

- Hitachi executive Junichi Kawabata on the commencement of regular operations by the company's high-speed Azuma trains between London and Leeds (Nikkei Asian Review, 5/15/19)

Hitachi assembles the trains in the UK.  

"If you look at electronic systems companies in China - smartphone companies or whoever - basically all of their future designs for as far as we can see for probably decades out now, when they go to do a new design for a system, they are going to be looking at non-US parts.... The fear of God has been put into them... if there is an alternative, they are going to pick it."

- Bill McClean, President, IC Insights (EE Times, 6/10/19)