china good newsletter july 2020

1 blockchain- see footnote 1
2 hong kong -top of l.ivesmatter.city in 2020 because its tech youth are designing win-wins with mainland and asean and with anyone interested in sdgs - see this  tour
3 aiib -see end of july zoom summit  -footnote 2

=================
1 from coindeck China’s Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) took a great leap forward by integrating with six public blockchains. Beginning Aug 10, Tezos, NEO, Nervos, EOS, IRISnet and Ethereum developers will be able to build dapps and run nodes drawing on bandwidth from BSN’s data centers. 

The BSN is a toolbox for open source developers to build blockchain applications. Sometimes called the “digital belt and road initiative,” the BSN is an oxymoronic experiment in nation state-led decentralized tech development.

“This is part of China's plan to be the one and only infrastructure provider for blockchain firms around the world,” CoinDesk’s David Pan reports. A continuation of President Xi Jinping’s commitment to “seize” the blockchain opportunity, the BSN reveals lingering contradictions in China’s approach to open source crypto projects. 

“The Chinese government and regulators are very cautious about decentralized public chains and try not to get involved in anything related to a public blockchain,” Hongfei Da, founder of NEO, said. “It is interesting to see BSN, which has a clear commercial purpose and is backed by entities with government background, is supporting such projects.” 
============================================

Opening Ceremony28 July 2020, 5:00-5:30 p.m. (GMT+ 8)

The opening ceremony of the 2020 AIIB Annual Meeting will be livestreamed here. Please find the agenda below:

- Keynote Speech by the State Dignitary of the People’s Republic of China

- Remarks by Mr. Jin Liqun, President, AIIB

- Remarks by U Soe Win, Vice Chair of the Board of Governors, AIIB & Union Minister for Planning and Finance, Republic of the Union of Myanmar

- Remarks by Hon. Bjarni Benediktsson, Vice Chair of the Board of Governors, AIIB & Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Republic of Iceland

- Welcome Address by H.E. Liu Kun, Chair of the Board of Governors, AIIB & Minister of Finance, People’s Republic of China

Master of Ceremonies: Sir Danny Alexander, Secretary of the Board of Governors & Vice President, Corporate Secretary, AIIB

_____________________________________________________

Session One: Closing the Digital Divide: Infrastructure and Technologies28 July 2020, 6:00-6:45 p.m. (GMT+ 8)
Confirmed Speakers

Part one:

• Konstantin Limitovskiy, Vice President, Investment Operations Region 2, AIIB 
• Kai-Fu Lee, Chairman and CEO of Sinovation Ventures, Author 

Part Two:

• Daniel Ahn, Founder and Partner, Clearvision
• Manuel Etter, Vice President, Loon

Digital technology is transforming the global economy by creating new opportunities and changing the way we work. Digital infrastructure is the new virtual roads and railways underpinning the modern economy. Nevertheless, it is estimated that close to half of the world’s population remains unconnected to the internet, with the majority living in low and emerging economies. The divide also exists across business sectors, where the infrastructure sector has lagged behind in benefitting from the productivity gains that digital technology brings. 

This webinar will discuss the importance of digital infrastructure and closing the digital divide between regions, demographics, and sectors. It will start with a discussion on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) approach to investing in digital infrastructure, in light of its newly approved Digital Infrastructure Strategy Sector, and how it hopes to, close digital divides and foster the uses of digital technologies in all infrastructure sectors. A panel of leading experts from across the world will share their views on the key characteristics of the digital divide—access, affordability, awareness, and ability—and the most influential and ready applications that can digitalize infrastructure and make it more efficient and resilient. The webinar will also share suggestions, concrete steps and initiatives that multilateral financial institutions such as AIIB can promote to improve digital infrastructure.

_____________________________________________________

Session Two: Private Equity for Emerging Markets Infrastructure During Crisis28 July 2020, 7:15-8:00 p.m. (GMT+ 8)
Confirmed Speakers:

· Dongik Lee, Director General, Investment Operations (Region 1), AIIB (Moderator)

· Josh Lerner, Professor, Harvard Business School

· Christina Tan, CEO, Keppel Asia Infrastructure Fund

· Jin-Yong Cai, Partner, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP)

The Asian private equity industry is a fast-moving sector where numerous innovative financing structures evolve in response to market needs. Like other sectors of the economy, private equity players have been affected by COVID-19, and have had to take on numerous adaptations and risk management measures to support economic recovery. 

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which has been actively developing its own private equity portfolio since 2018-2019, continues to engage the private equity industry to help it face the unique challenges of, and seize the new opportunities available in, the current financial environment. 

This webinar will discuss AIIB’s vision on private equity and the promotion of private equity investments in infrastructure. Joined by AIIB representatives and other leading experts, this session will look at the participation of multilateral financial institutions in private equity funds and how these funds can be a vehicle to catalyze private capital into infrastructure investments in emerging markets. In addition, experts will discuss opportunities resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, such as growing interest from institutional investors in Asian private equity.

_____________________________________________________

Session Three: AIIB—the Establishment of a 21st Century Development Bank29 July 2020, 4:45-5:30 p.m. (GMT+ 8)
Confirmed Speakers:

• Gerard Sanders, General Counsel, AIIB
• Shi Yaobin, Chair of Budget Committee of National People’s Congress of China, and Chair of the Chief Negotiators Meeting for Establishing AIIB
• Natalie Liechtenstein, General Counsel for the Chief Negotiators Meeting on Establishing AIIB, China Studies affiliated Scholar, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
• Chris Legg, Former Dean of the AIIB Board of Directors  (Moderator)

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) began operations in January 2016 with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes by investing in sustainable infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia.

The architects and negotiators of AIIB drew on the accumulated experience of existing financial institutions to design a new kind of multilateral development bank. The management adopted recognizable financial products, best practices  and operational models that have laid the foundations of multilateralism. In addition, AIIB negotiators focused on establishing an institution responsive to a new multilateralism and sealed Articles of Agreement that aims to institutionalize best practices and introduce innovative approaches.

On the occasion of AIIB’s fifth Annual Meeting, this event will bring together key figures in the negotiation process that led to the establishment of the Bank. Panelists will discuss the key aspects of AIIB governance that contributed to its success and the innovative features that make AIIB a modern and unique institution. 

_____________________________________________________

Session Four: The Future of Regional Connectivity29 July 2020, 6:00-7:00 p.m. (GMT+ 8)

Confirmed Speakers:

• Joachim von Amsberg, Vice President, Policy, Strategy and Budget, AIIB
• Armida Salsiah Alisjahbanawas, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
• Rania Al-Mashat, AIIB Alternate Governor, Minister of International Cooperation, Arab Republic of Egypt
• Haslinda Amin, Bloomberg Chief International Correspondent for Southeast Asia (Moderator)

Regional connectivity is central to Asia’s economic development, yet improving connectivity is an area that suffers from vast underinvestment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created major economic and social disruption, compounding existing challenges to infrastructure investments, and encouraging people to consider not only the strengths, but also the weaknesses of the globalized economic system. While the economic forces of efficiency, economies of scale and comparative advantage that drove globalization and cross-border connectivity will remain, the pandemic is a unique opportunity to assess and re-envision the regional connectivity agenda.

At a time when many clients struggle to respond to the crisis, safeguarding the implementation of ongoing and new growth-enhancing programs is essential for a fast and sustainable recovery. With its mandate of fostering infrastructure financing, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) can play a catalytic role in addressing both short- and long-term impacts and create opportunities for innovation.

This webinar will discuss how countries can get the most from regional connectivity projects and make them work in a post-COVID-19 era. It will also explore how economies can help to reconcile the needs with opportunities for innovation and adaptation created by the crisis.

_____________________________________________________

Session Five: Investing in Climate Action29 July 2020, 7:30-8:30 p.m. (GMT+ 8)

Confirmed Speakers:

• Danny Alexander, Vice President and Corporate Secretary AIIB (Moderator)
• Zou Jiayi, AIIB Alternate Governor, Vice Minister of Finance, People’s Republic of China
• Yves Perrier, CEO, Amundi
• Nicholas Stern, IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government at the London School of Economics, and member of the AIIB International Advisory Panel
• Stefen Shin, Principal Investment Officer, AIIB

Strategic climate investments can both stimulate economies and build climate resilience. Globally, corporations are becoming increasingly aware of the need to mitigate climate change risks. As a result, they are progressively signing long-term, large-scale contracts that leverage incentives and local financing into climate finance. Governments are catalyzing private investment in climate resilience by providing incentives, funding innovation and supporting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has made substantive efforts to include climate change priorities in its decision-making processes across its operations. Among its initiatives are the Asia Environmental, Social and Governance Enhanced Credit Managed Portfolio, and the Asia Climate Bond Portfolio in partnership with Amundi, the largest asset management company in Europe.

In this webinar, Sir Danny Alexander, AIIB Vice President and Corporate Secretary, together with AIIB Governors, prominent climate action expert Lord Nicholas Stern, and Amundi CEO Yves Perrier, will discuss the concrete steps undertaken by different actors to support the involvement of private capital in climate action and the opportunities ahead.