Some sobering remarks and thoughts from a recent TIME magazine article on the WEF in Davos (”Lovely While It Lasts”, Pg 36, TIME Europe, Feb 5, ‘07)…
Zhu Min, Vice President, Bank of China:
- “I am more and more convinced that we’ll have a much tougher situation in the coming years” (talking about the $1 trillion in reserves held by China’s central bank to which another $200billion will be added this year)
China and India together account for about 40% of the world’s population but only 6% of the world’s economic output. By contrast, the US, Japan and Western Europe make up 15% of the global population but account for 80% of its output…(as a consequence…)
- “…There is a great gap and it is going to be bridged over the next 20 years…we are going to see fundamental changes in the center of gravity and the center of power” Jacob A. Frenkel, Vice Chairman, AIG
German Chancellor Angela Merkel:
- “…for the past 200 years, we got used to a Eurocentric view of the world but today we can see that this type of overview is over…”
Laura D. Tyson (ex-Dean, LBS and now Prof at Haas Business School)
- “I do worry how the U.S. will respond to the fact that its hyper-power status in terms of finance and wealth has to be reduced over the next 25 years”. She has reason to worry: most Americans (… and I would add Europeans – SB) have no idea so elemental a shift of power is now under way.
and finally,
- “All the panelists said that they were concerned that the big questions relating to globalization, including the huge power shifts under way from the developed economies to the developing ones, were not being well explained in the West”
Worrying…
January 31st, 2007
Posted by
Shantanu |
China, Emerging Markets, Europe and Asia, Globalization, India, USA and Asia |
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…and some notes from last week at Cleantech:
- 9% of all VC activity is now in Cleantech – $2bn in 2006!
- Now the third largest VC category? (just under $3bn?)
- On AIM 29 cleantech deals last year raised $1.2bn
- Cleantech city of the year: Frankfurt: 15 clean energy deals raising $2.6bn
- 20% of the world’s population lack access to clean water today
- Cleantech is “the greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century” – Ray Lane, ex-Oracle and now GP, Kliener Perkins
- Europe is a lot more mature about cleantech than US has been
- Huge capital needs in this space – hampers innovation?
- Holy Grail of Energy: Storage: How to store it and not loose it
- AIM/ Frankfurt is seeing all the action…What is the US VC industry doing about rejuvenating NASDAQ/ NYSE and relaxing some of the more onerous regulations…?
- 51k protests out of 80k protests in China last year were related to environmental pollution
- 44% of Indian households do not have electricity (I am not sure this is correct – SB)
- India is the greatest adapter and user of renewable energy in the world (village level/ cow-dung, bio-fuel)
- What is needed is not so much cutting edge technology but immediately applicable technologies that will help satisfy the basic needs at the rural level of water and electricity
- There is (today) 1 car for 143 people in India/ 1 car for 1.6 ppl in US and 1 car for every 60 ppl in China
- China feeds 22% of the world with 7% of arable land; It is also the biggest emitter of SO2 which causes acid rain
January 31st, 2007
Posted by
Shantanu |
China, Development Issues |
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