Tuesday March 16, 2010 18:30-21:00
 
Motion: This House Believes that the Chinese Economy is Headed for a Hard Landing

John Authers
Investment Editor at the Financial Times
About the Debates
For 2010 the British Chamber of Commerce Guangdong is planning a series of special 'China Debates' loosely along the same lines as the brilliant 'Doha Debates', chaired by the former BBC correspondent and interviewer Tim Sebastian.

The China Debates focus on a single, topical motion, with two speakers for and against. Once they have outlined their arguments, each speaker is questioned by the Chairman and the discussion is then opened up to the audience for further questions and discussions.  At the end of the debate, the audience are invited to vote on the motion.
    

 

Venue:
The Ritz-Carlton, 3 Xing An Road, Pearl River New City, Guangzhou
广州市天河区珠江新城兴安路3号富力丽思卡尔顿酒店
     
 
FOR:  
Ben Simpfendorfer
Chief China Economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland in Hong Kong and author
Jim Walker
Founder & Managing Director of Asianomics
 

 
AGAINST:
Giles Chance
Visiting professor at the Guanghua Business School at Peking University and author
Shaun Rein
Founder & Managing Director of the China Market Research Group (CMR)
 
 
 
Price:
Members: RMB 300
Non-members: RMB 400

* For those needing accommodation a special Chamber rate has been arranged with the Ritz-Carlton, including a complimentary pickup service from the East Railway Station (24hr notice required). Please contact Watson Li by calling (8620) 3813 6826 or by emailing him on:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

All Speakers may be subject to change.

Organized by: The British Chamber of Commerce Guangdong

Supported by: The British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, China-Britain Business Council, Chambre de Commerce et d'industrie Francoise en Chine, European Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong, European Chamber, German Chamber of Commerce in China, South China,
Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China
  

  
Chairman:
   
John Authers
________________________________________
John Authers took over as investment editor of the Financial Times in September 2006. He writes the daily Short View column, the Long View column, which appears every Saturday, and the Last Word column for FT Fund Management, which appears monthly.

He joined the FT in 1990. In previous posts, he has been US markets editor, US banking correspondent, and Mexico City bureau chief. He is currently based in New York. His publications include The Victim’s Fortune - Inside the Epic Battle Over the Debts of the Holocaust, co-authored by Richard Wolffe and published by HarperCollins in 2002. He holds a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from University College, Oxford, and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
    
Speakers:   
    
Ben Simpfendorfer
________________________________________
Speaking for the motion:
    
Ben Simpfendorfer is Chief China Economist for the Royal Bank of Scotland, Hong Kong. He joined the bank in 2005, after five years as a Senior China Economist for JPMorgan Chase, Hong Kong. Prior to this he was a Sovereign Economist at Dun & Bradstreet, United Kingdom. He speaks Arabic and Chinese, and has lived in Beirut, Damascus, Beijing, and Hong Kong. His editorials have appeared in the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, and the International Herald Tribune. He is author of “The New Silk Road: How A Rising Arab World Is Turning Away From The West And Rediscovering China”, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2009. He is also currently writing a chapter on “China’s Relations With The Gulf” for a book co-sponsored by the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.K’s Joint Services. He has a Masters Degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
    
Jim Walker
________________________________________
Speaking for the motion:
    
"Dr Jim" is considered by Asian financial and business circles as one of the region's leading independent economists and is particularly well known for his candid presentations and for taking a position and defending it! He is based in Hong Kong with over 25 years of experience as an economist, including 17 years in Asia.

He was formerly the Chief Economist at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets and left to set up Asianomics in 2007, a truly independent economic research company providing insights and analysis on investment in various markets. His strong expertise is in watching key Asian markets - especially China, India and Japan, conducting macroeconomic analyses and forecasts of Asia/Pacific and advising on policy and strategy.

He is a seasoned presenter at major events ranging from large business conferences to client seminars. He was voted best 'regional economist' by the Asiamoney Stockbrokers Poll between 1994 and 2004 and regularly acclaimed in the private Greenwich Surveys of fund managers in Asia, Europe and America. He serves on the MasterCard Worldwide MasterIntelligence Knowledge Panel.

Sample assignments including keynote speeches at global investment forums, special presentations to visiting CEOs and Board members, kick-off presentations and facilitation of regional strategy and planning meetings. Dr. Jim speaks at major events e.g. Forbes CEO Forum, China Economic Summit, and Economist Conferences. He is also a sought-after commentator who is interviewed regularly in print and on TV, including CNBC, Bloomberg, amongst many others.

Before coming to Asia, he worked for The Royal Bank of Scotland at their Edinburgh headquarters and was previously a research fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute for Research on the Scottish economy. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree and PhD in economics from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
    
Giles Chance
________________________________________
Speaking against the motion:
    
Giles Chance is a visiting professor at the Guanghua Business School at Peking University, where he first taught a class in 1999. He met his Chinese wife at the World Bank in 1984, and first visited China in 1988.  Since 1989, he has advised numerous foreign companies and investors in China, and has assisted many Chinese companies to source technology from Western companies, and raise capital in the Hong Kong and London markets.  Giles was educated at St. Andrews University in Scotland and at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in the United States, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.

Author of 'China and the Credit Crisis: The Emergence of a New World Order', published by Wiley (March 1, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0470825075 (Paperback)
    
Shaun Rein
________________________________________
Speaking against the motion:
    
Shaun Rein is the Managing Director of CMR, the world's leading strategic market intelligence firm. He is one of the world's recognized thought leaders on strategy consulting.
 
He is a columnist for Forbes on Leadership, Marketing, and China and for BusinessWeek's Asia Insight section. He is often featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Harvard Business Review, The Economist, The Financial Times, Bloomberg, Time, and the New York Times. He frequently appears to deliver commentary on CNBC's Squawk Box, Bloomberg TV, CBS News, and CNN International TV. He earned his Master's degree from Harvard University focused on China's economy and received a BA Honours from McGill University.