Time: October 28, 2021, 7:45-8:45 p.m. (GMT+8)

Launch of AIIB Publication- Asian Infrastructure Finance 2021-Sustaining Global Value Chains





The 2021 edition of AIIB’s publication Asian Infrastructure Finance Report focuses on global value chains (GVCs) and argues that reports on the demise of GVCs are greatly exaggerated. Accounting for close to half of total exports, GVCs continue to be an important lever for developing countries to transition from investment-led to innovation-led growth. Despite recent slowdown in growth, GVCs continue to expand and transform economies. When COVID-19 struck, existing logistics systems quickly sprung back to action, minimizing the damage and bringing deliveries back to pre-pandemic levels.

The report emphasizes the critical nature of infrastructure quality and capacity to the agility and resilience of GVCs. Case studies of China and India demonstrate the importance of infrastructure-intensive location-based policies to complement sector-oriented horizontal industrial policies in the quest for spatially balanced development.

The report also points to serious challenges. In the wake of the pandemic and faced with trade and geopolitical tensions, multinationals are examining existing networks for vulnerabilities and the effects are still being played out. More importantly, as the world moves toward Net Zero Carbon, firms will increasingly be responsible for the carbon footprint of their networks. This will imply enforcing decarbonization throughout the chains they control for GVCs to remain viable.

Multilateral development banks have a particular responsibility in facilitating investments to help countries join GVCs, assisting in preparing sustainable projects, helping build capacity to manage these projects and protecting global commons.


Speakers:

  • Ludger Schuknecht, Vice President and Corporate Secretary, AIIB
  • Erik Berglof, Chief Economist, AIIB
  • Alicia García-Herrero, Senior Fellow, Bruegel & Chief Economist APAC, Natixis
  • Chang-Tai Hsieh, Winkelreid Professor of Economics, University of Chicago
  • Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog