SINGAPORE (Dec 27): This year, the international political and business scene was eventful. With characters such as US President Donald Trump dominating headlines and tweetsphere, there was no shortage of memorable one-liners. Trump took on every issue foreign and domestic. As the year drew to a close, Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, marked her full year in detention in Canada, as the company founded by her father Ren Zhengfei continues to be a prime target of the US-China trade war. Trump’s domestic political rivals, led by Nancy Pelosi, had plenty to say about this divisive commander-in-chief.
Meanwhile, the world moved ahead on other fronts. For example, hedge fund manager Ray Dalio, despite some questions over the performance of his firm’s funds, has emerged as a vocal proponent upending the basic tenet of asset owners’ motivation: that there is more to making money for shareholders. Tyson, one of the largest US meat producers, faces some new trends of its own as plant-based meat, known by other fancy names such as alternative protein, gains popularity.
The months-long protests in Hong Kong have dominated regional and global headlines as well. Chief Executive Carrie Lam is under severe pressure. The duration of this round of protests has gone on longer than most observers had expected. The former UK colony is in uncharted territory.
On hindsight, UK’s Brexit mess would be one of the biggest self-inflicted political wounds made by a country ever. The initially worrisome headlines had, after three years, degenerated into a quagmire of twist and turns that only the most ardent UK constitutional lawyer would eagerly follow.
New business and political figures emerge, and old ones fall into oblivion. None suffered a fall as heavy and punitive as car executive Carlos Ghosn, who, until till early this year, was shogun of the combined Nissan-Renault alliance. As by now apparent, executives at Nissan, the company he saved from near bankruptcy nearly two decades ago, had been stealthily engineering his ouster.
Similarly, for the global political and business scenes, expect the unexpected.
“This is a trade war that should have taken place a long time ago. Somebody had to do it. I am the chosen one.”
— US President Donald Trump on the ongoing trade war with China
“Presidential Harassment!”
— Trump’s tweet, following news that former special counsel Robert Mueller would be testifying in public on his investigations into Trump’s alleged dealings with Russia
“It is not my wish to linger, but I’m trapped. The seasons change, time moves, it’s been a year.”
— Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, on the first anniversary of her detention in Canada
“The system of making capitalism work well for most people is broken”
— Ray Dalio, founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates
“We remain firmly committed to our growing traditional meat business and expect to be a market leader in alternative protein”
— Noel White, CEO of Tyson, a leading meat producer
“We believe that the president of the United States is engaged in a cover-up”
— US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, following a meeting with other Democratic Party leaders on whether to impeach Trump
“I will not be broken”
— Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, as Japanese prosecutors arrested him for the fourth time. He faces charges of misstating his salary and breaching trust.
“Where there is a will, there is a #deal — we have one!”
— Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, following the European Union’s draft Brexit deal with the UK
“No doubt, I will receive some harsh criticism. But I also hope to receive constructive suggestions to help this government meet the public’s expectations for a more inclusive and fairer Hong Kong.”
— Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam
“I think, from their perspectives, things only get serious when their kids can’t go to school and they can’t get their lattes and go to yoga”
— Unnamed foreign executive, to the Financial Times in November, referring to the expat community’s view of the months-long protests in Hong Kong
“If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so”
— Special counsel Robert S Mueller, in summing up his two-year-long investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 US presidential elections won by Donald Trump
