Having served the Kelly Group for more than 10 years, Anthony Raja Devadoss is currently the Vice President - APAC with the Outsourcing & Consulting Group of Kelly Services. From network services, engineering to e-business solutions, Anthony Raja has worked in both India and Malaysia, within technical roles to the Chief Executive Officer. He has received his Bachelors degree in Science and his MBA in Marketing & Postgraduate Diploma in Computing. He holds membership in various local and international associations such as the MIM, Human Capital Institute & Association of Career Professionals International. He is the Head of Policy Enablement & Government Liaison with Outsourcing Malaysia and a member of the Industry Advisory Board for the Graduate School of Business, UNIRAZAK. He has been recently appointed to the HR Capacity Building task force by the Ministry of Human Resources, Govt of Malaysia.
How will Asia do in 2012?
8 February 2012 9:19 AM
A number of elections and political transitions in the Asia-Pacific region in 2012 will mean a focus on domestic issues amid uncertainty stemming from the Eurozone crisis and the global economic slowdown. As China embarks on its most important political transition in a decade, jockeying among elites will lead to risk aversion in policymaking.
Elections will also dominate politics in South Korea, Hong Kong, and India, as well as Japan if a snap election is held. Opposition parties are well-placed to win a majority in Seoul, while Hong Kong may see an actual race for chief executive. And in India, all eyes are on bellwether state elections and the transfer of power from Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi to a new generation headed by her son Rahul. Legislative gridlock in Japan could prompt Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to call an election for the lower house of the Diet.
Many governments in the region are revising economic forecasts for 2012 downward (with the exception of China, Vietnam, and Indonesia). Japan, New Zealand, and Thailand may mitigate some of the effects of a global economic slowdown with additional spending on rebuilding efforts after recent natural disasters. However, authorities in Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia will use spending on infrastructure development and other programs to attract foreign investment.
Security will also be a key issue in 2012. In North Korea, Kim Jong-un’s efforts to consolidate power poses serious risks to the region. Meanwhile, China will find that its neighbors are less enamored with the country’s economic heft and more wary of its strategic intentions; governments from Tokyo to Manila will welcome Washington’s efforts to reengage Asia both economically and militarily.
Last, but not least, the drawdown of US forces from Afghanistan could limit the ability of diplomatic efforts to forge peace in the region and damage regional economic integration and trade prospects.
Get a deeper understanding of what we are predicting for each of the Asian countries in our latest Global Market Brief, a research report of KellyOCG and Eurasia Group.