November 26, 2014

The World in 2015: China, education, technology and policy

The World in Gala Dinner evening, inspired by The Economist's annual The World In... publication, returned to Sydney last night. China Business Editor and Shanghai Bureau Chief, Vijay V Vaitheeswaran, shared the publication’s key predictions for 2015.

Vijay V Vaitheeswaran, The Economist’s China Business Editor and Shanghai Bureau Chief, shared the publication’s key predictions for 2015, covering China, education, technology and policy.

China’s relationships with multinationals will change. Endless years of double-digit growth will hit the rocks as the government cracks down on monopolistic practices and pricing. 2015 will be the first year foreign direct investment into China will be dwarfed by Chinese companies investing abroad.

Three forces will change the education sector. Cost, changing patterns of demand and the internet will ensure anyone, anywhere at any time can get the education they need. This will lead to three dynamic outcomes: experimentation, the democratisation of education and real resilience, where anyone can retrain at any time.

The rise of intelligent devices will link the virtual and physical worlds. Consequently, Silicon Valley will once again become an engineering mecca.

2015 will be the age of the connected car. Smart cars will assist drivers and eventually take over. Crash avoidance and auto emergency breaking will come into widespread use.

Tightening labour markets around the world will lead to a policy push for higher wages in 2015. This will squeeze profit margins and bosses will fight back, but in the absence of cheaper markets, they will eventually have to raise wages.

China’s service economy will take off. This will create a profound transition in the Chinese economy, which has great potential for Australia. Australia’s free trade agreement with China has the potential to link Australia’s excellence in services to the $12 billion opportunity in China by 2025.

NAB was recently privileged to sponsor The Economist’s spectacular The World In 2015 event. It was an evening of surprises, unexpected insights and dramatic revelations about the year ahead. These insights were written by NAB and are based on the guest speakers’ presentations.