Member Views

Maybank Singapore

BWC welcomes our new organizational member Maybank Singapore. Singapore is one of Maybank's largest overseas operations. It's staffed by over 2,000 employees. They offer retail, private wealth, and small and medium-sized enterprise banking services; and their Singapore branch operates the Global Banking business to cater to the banking needs of corporate and institutional clients.

Their engagement with the Committee will be led by Chandran Dharmarajan, Head of Brand and Communications. We appreciate their support for our mission, and we look forward to their engagement!

Element Capital

BWC's newest organizational member is Element Capital Management. Element is an alternative investment manager with a "modern macro" style of global macro investing. 

Tunisia Migration Matches Debt Distress Call

BWC member Gary Kleiman writes that "Tunisia must... find a predictable political and economic equilibrium outside immediate sovereign debt default and repressive regime threats. An exit ramp could be a no credit staff monitored rather than full-fledged IMF connection."

Yemen economic spoils spat revs Red Sea rage

The Bretton Woods Committee is pleased to Member Spotlight an article by Gary Kleiman discussing the economic and humanitarian situation in Yemen against the backdrop of recent Red Sea shipping raids. It highlights the ongoing conflict between the Iran-aligned Houthis in the North and the internationally recognized government backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the South.

Libya, Morocco calamities blot investor glimmer

The coincidental natural disasters in Morocco and Libya captured global headlines with their near biblical ferocity, wiping out entire towns without warning and historical experience, but also came as the neighbours were again drawing in foreign portfolio and direct investors after bumpy political and economic rides last year.

Egypt Hot Money Skips Happy Ending Encore

"Egypt could be a model for the broader region if it manages eventually to float the pound, embark on wide-scale privatization, and minimize fiscal and current account deficits, but the near-term adjustments will be wrenching", writes BWC member Gary Kleiman.

Africa Stock Markets Test Run Revival Formula

Most frontier African stock markets lagged in 2022, but a revival is likely on renewed privatization policies, cross-border integration, currency rationalization, and bank rotation from forced bond allocation into equities, writes BWC member Gary Kleiman.

The Prospects for a Recalibration of China's Taiwan Policy

If the opposition party wins Taiwan's presidential election, "the trajectory and dynamics of the cross-Strait relationship could change, probably giving the U.S. and China some room to manage their strategic competition," according to BWC member Hung Tran.

China’s Big Gamble in the South China Sea

The Bretton Woods Committee is pleased to Member Spotlight Hung Tran's recent article in The Diplomat discussing the escalating tension between China and the Philippines over their sovereignty dispute concerning the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.

According to Tran, "Heightened China-Philippines tension around Second Thomas Shoal could escalate to military skirmishes – and that’s a chance Beijing appears willing to take."

Where Are We Going? Fundamentals of Defense Foresight

“Uncontrolled displacements of populations... are reversible thanks to a coordinated action of world governance, in particular through the IFIs resulting from the Bretton Woods treaty," writes BWC member Pierre Viaud in this month's issue of Revue Défense Nationale.