MUFG APAC Insights Podcast

With the conclusion of the Malaysian General Election, senior currency analyst Jeff Ng provides his outlook for the Malaysian ringgit after the election, and its implications on the market ahead.

Fresh from his trip to COP27 in Egypt, Tomo Ishikawa, global head of government and regulatory affairs, shares his initial observations of the summit. He is joined by Amanpreet Singh, Director of ESG Finance for Asia Pacific in a reflection of MUFG’s latest efforts in driving transition finance and the importance of client engagement in enabling a just and orderly transition in Asia. 

Has the global energy crisis dealt a damaging blow to global sustainability, and the net zero targets established for 2030 and beyond? Hailey Orr, Capital Markets Strategist from MUFG’s New York office, shares highlights from her latest report on the impact of the global energy crisis on ESG efforts.

Tom Joyce, Capital Markets Strategist from MUFG's New York office, shares highlights from his latest research report on the extent of the global recession in the coming quarter, and whether the US Fed will be able to continue its historically rapid pace of tightening in 2022. 

Amid ongoing global growth concerns and tighter financial conditions, currencies in Asia are expected to run into choppy waters in the year ahead, with a divergence in performance, driven by country-specific factors and local economic trends.

In this episode, our global markets research team for Asia, led by Dr. Lin Li and currency analysts Jeff Ng and Sophia Ng, provide their outlook for currencies in the region for the second half of 2022.

South-east Asia is home to 15% of the world's tropical forests, but its fast-growing agricultural business sector, rightly or wrongly, has long been identified as one of the contributors to deforestation. But what if by providing agribusinesses greater access to digital financial services, we can not only empower them to generate greater returns, but also help protect the environment?    

In this episode, MUFG's Elisa Minischetti, vice president of Digital Transformation Division in Singapore, and Amanpreet Singh, Director in ESG Finance office for APAC, share how the bank is promoting financial inclusion through fintech as part of MUFG’s sustainability mission in Asia Pacific. Lionel Wong, Head of the Green Fintech Office of the Monetary Authority of Singapore also shares the regulator is also playing its part to address the deforestation issue, support the agribusiness sector and promote the growth of green finance in Singapore and across the region.  

Most narratives in the energy transition space agree that an orderly, systemic approach to achieve net zero carbon goals would be preferred. But while this seems possible in theory, it becomes much harder when put into practice.

In this episode, Shiv Sivarajah, Head of Energy & Resources for Asia Pacific, Ehsan Khoman, Head of Emerging Markets Research for EMEA, and Michele Peduzzi, Head of Energy Coverage for EMEA discuss what an orderly transition really is, whether it really matters and how best to achieve our sustainability goals for the planet. 

In the latest episode of the MUFG APAC Insights Podcast, Ehsan Khoman, Head of Emerging Markets Research for EMEA, and Matt Fennessy, Head of Global Market Sales for Global Subsidiary Banking, Asia, share their overall commodities thesis and why a bullish stance is recommended. They also discuss the prices of energy, metals and agriculture in the context of Russia-Ukraine war as well as the outlook for commodity prices moving forward.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to add pressure on the existing supply shortages of commodities and extend global supply disruptions.  With the war expected to continue to cast inflationary pressures and tighten global financial conditions, the global markets research team for Asia, led by Lin Li and currency analysts Jeff Ng and Sophia Ng, provide their outlook for currencies in Asia for the second quarter of 2022.

China's latest "Two Sessions" meetings kicked off with updates on the state of the economy and its goals, tasks and policy priorities for the economic and social developments for 2022. 

In this episode, Dr. Lin Li, head of global markets research for Asia, shares her key takeaways from the latest government report by the National People's Congress.