Name: MPW London 2019: Top Finance Leaders Discuss Global Growth, Risk and Innovation
Uploaded: 2019-06-06
Duration: 18 min 48 s
Description: With Ann Cairns, Executive Vice Chairman of Mastercard, and Wei Sun Christianson or Morgan Stanley.

So, we have two of the very top global experts, global economic experts also two women from the fortunate most powerful women. lyst. Thank you both for being here. We're going to start As we like to do sort of like the big get to know you. We like to get to know our panelists as well as talk about issues. So Wei, I'm gonna start with you. So Wei Sun Christianson is CEO for Morgan Stanley in China and co- CEO of Asia Pacific. And fascinating career because she's tracked the entry of China. She grew up in Beijing. Went to school at am hearse the first Mainland China woman to graduate from Amherst. But her career is tracked the entry of the of China into the global economy. And you actually helped with the regulatory structure for Chinese companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange early on. So You know a lot about china but she also has kind of a fashion bug and she ended up joining the board of Estee Lauder. Lynn, is Lynn still here? Patty and I happen to be with John Mack the former CEO of Morgan Stanley a week ago and he was raving about you. He had to break a rule of Morgan Stanley to even let you sit on the board because of all the conflicts of interest and investment bank but how has that experience been? Well, it is great. And first of all, I have to, also thank Leanne, and because she was one of the very strong voice With be as louder board and the recommending me and also pushing Lennar louder to really make a plea to [ UNKNOWN ] Stanley, I'm very grateful for the firm to give me the opportunity as Laura is such an amazing company. I've learned so much and especially at the time that one we're building business and the governance Standards and where I come from is very different, so to have the first hand experience, the sitting on the board and to learn about the best industry practice from this fantastic company is a great plus, it's a lots of fun, you know Yeah, yeah Talking about make up and all the [ UNKNOWN ] Yeah [ LAUGH ] You know. Fantastic. And you're a graduate of Shettfield University. You are executive vice chair of Mastercard, but n fact you're kind of an engineer by background. You studied math. Was it physics too? Math, chemisty. Math. Well, masters Physics and chemistry before university a few months at university. And what I love about Anne's background she was the first woman ever worked to work in the UK on an offshore oil rig. Tell us how that went. Well I mean it was great fun. I loved working outdoors and. And when I actually told the head of insurance engineering, I've love to do this job. He said, you do know that you have to pass your option safety certificate. Which involves putting out kerosene fires, escaping under war ship grounding helicopters. Rain drops like dropping. Yeah, dropping into sea Said yeah but that's just the fun [ LAUGH ] So I love the life And you almost your uniform or the uniform the underwater thing didn't .>> I had a mom's small Rubber suit, survival suit. And when they threw me in the North Sea and all, it was April, it was freezing, I nearly got exposia because all the water just rushed into the suit through the face area, which just was too big for a woman. So they had to make me a new suit, specially for me. I love that. Which has subsequently left on a train to Charing Cross, and then had to go lost property and say I've left my rubber suit on the train. [ LAUGH ] And the guy from lost [ INAUDIBLE ] said uh- huh. [ LAUGH ] [ LAUGH ] Okay, to more serious stuff, let's go to the global economy way. The Economist had a big spread this week or last week on the jobs boom in the world. For all of our concerns about volatility and uncertainty in the markets, unemployment is at record lows in industrialized countries, the UK, the US, Japan And employment record high and US is moving into a one of it's longest period of expansion. But there is still that volatility trade and we're not allowed to use the word war, trade tension between the US and China what's going on. Well, when we talk about global economy, I think it's really important to look at the US because it does provide some directions. And in us, I think the core fundamentals are quite strong, as you said. That 3. 6 % of unemployment rate is very impressive, but most importantly, there's is coupled with the rises In wages, so that is a very nice combination. And in addition, the consumer sentiment and spending has also rebounded and there's a very muted inflation and we don't anticipate That the Fed will raise interest rates before you earned. So those are the good news but there is a still a downside risk as [ CROSSTALK ] And the trade, talk about how you see that playing out this trade war tension between the US and China. Well the trade tension as you pointed out is not a war is a tension that we've made that distinction are quite important distinction very closely because if they're war or trade war will be all in much worse big trouble than now because China and the United States was the second and largest economy in combination represents 40 % of the global economy which is a size of a eight year trading. So US is a 21 trading and China is 30 and the distant three Japan is a five trading. But, so, these are the facts that we have to face. These two countries represents the largest global economic growth and also they dominate economic trades. So, when these two countries in Sort of a, you know kind of a battle and they have tension and the escalation of the tension and the re- escalation of the tension that happened recently is not good for us, is not good for the world, we will be all actually feeling the pain, because these two countries actually have depended on each other. More than you know. China's surplus in goods, US surplus in service, and they rely on the consumers of their respective countries to really absorb that supply. And also With that case of globalization, the industrial supply chains have changed. So in fact, when we talk about goods made in China, it's a very different concept now than before. 2017, China export, total number Is $ 506 billion to the United States, out of which 60 %, six zero represents [ UNKNOWN ] Made by multinational companies operating in China, either wholly owned entities or joint ventures. So this is really not products made by the Chinese companies being heard and create This trade war is really a global situation that we have to really deal with. And certainly, I think this is the time that we need a reset about the relationship between the two countries. Because China 20 years ago was the economy of 1. 1 trillion only and it's really hard to say china had much impact outside his country but now as a second largest economy so what china is really thinking is how to engage with the rest of the world and the data Has evolved as well. So therefore there's a trade war. It is not about how to trade and on what terms are we having the trade it is about a negotiation on the new terms of arrangement. Between the two countries. So this negotiation process could be seen as a process of two largest economies of the world and they're trying to really reach a kind of agreeable terms of engagement and try to coexist with each other. That's what this is about. And what's upper most on your mind when we were talking about the rise of nationalism globally. Is that what worries you the most? Well it's very interesting to hear always comments because you know ultimately we are trying to serve the consumers around the world. And what I see As I travel around the world these people are becoming more similar but governments are becoming more polarized due to nationalism. And we got something like 2. 5 billion in consumer products out there in the market. And so we're looking at the whole Global trade and supply chain space. And saying, how can we assure that everybody gets what they need around the world with these big global supplies chains? And so [ UNKNOWN ] when a big technology company, so we're working with the technological language of saying. Let's work, we're working with Microsoft, and we've built a global directory that has 220 million companies loaded on there, from big huge companies to small Companies, and remember that women are running many of the SMEs around the world. And through these kind of global directories, we can allow them to trade. But obviously, it's very important that we ensure that the agreements that [ UNKNOWN ] is talking about actually reach between the governments. In her case, she was talking about the US and China. But we know sitting here in Britain that because of Brexit we may be in a situation that we're negotiating our own trade agreements outside the EU, if that happens. And so this really is a global issue and it's in all our interests to solve it. And it's gonna be a fantastic US UK trade agreement. I heard out of the White House just love. Okay, so. AI is something that's on everybody's mind, it's going to shift and is shifting the global economy, and you're part of the AI council here in London. You've made an interesting comment where you say it can't be the Internet of everything if it's not the Internet of everyone. Tell us about that and how that connects to your concerns about AI. Yes, I mean obviously we've been looking at things like financial inclusion and the World Bank stats on that are good. More people are included in the financial system of the last few years, an extra half a billion. MasterCard itself have actually committed to delivering half a billion people into the system be between 2015 and 2020 and We are already at about 400 millions, so we are well on track. But you know you can't be included into the financial system unless you have got some means to connect. And today for example, there 600 million people with mobile phones that don't have bank accounts. So obviously you got build mobile products [ UNKNOWN ] mobile phones But then if you think about it, how do you reach people in remote areas of Africa or in India or in different places around the world. And how do you get them included when you're busy rolling out 5G across the world and everyone is going to be connected up? This is an issue that a lot of thought and attention is being put into. And I think That what has to drive that is innovation, and it's a two way street in that lack of inclusion also makes you come up with more innovative things, and probably at the heart of all of this is an identity 1. 5 million people on the planet today don't have any type of identity, digital or physical. So if you were born, woman born in Africa, you don't have a passport, you don't have a driver's license. You don't have a bank account. You don't have a birth certificate. So the thing is how do we create digital identities of the future that work for everyone. And speaking of divides where you had concerns about A. I. creating more of a divide. Yes, if there is such a divide, I think this is between developing countries and the developed countries. Because as we know that AI is extremely effective in helping, driving productivity, In the developing countries and that is obviously a huge challenge, is about economical growth and growth driver and the increase in productivity. And that is very effective. However, in developing countries Then it's a very different story. So where people actually are more focused playing catchup on the best industry practice and the The groves of where I come from, from Asia for instance, a lot of the countries is, actually larger groves and coming from the structural changes and the reforms and policy supports coming from this country and so therefore AI will. As it's being developed in the developing country more quickly will create you know the gap, and increase, you know, enlarge the gap and polarize to a certain extent, the differences between developing and the developed countries even more. We have time for one question. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Anybody? Yes, stand up and tell us who you are. Keep the answer. Hi, Sigrid Johansson, working for the Dutch government in Washington. Thank you very much for sharing your views. One of the most dark scenarios as an outcome of this trade war could be to Internets. Two separate internets. A Chinese one and an American one which will also lead to separate markets. What can be the role of Europe in this cuz we're caught right in the middle? I think when you talk about two internets actually Very interesting because I do have a scenario of a [ UNKNOWN ] in China that I want to share with you. But before I go there, so I think that actually Europe and the UK can play a very critical role. I think as a China and the US are very much caught up in this Very intense, ego Asian and there was so much escalation sometimes attention building up. I think we need more rational voice and we need a different perspective or look at globalization will look at the impact of technology and the look at this whole Issue about what people are afraid of and that I think large for truth is to be told. I think this whole negotiation reflect one point that of course both governments know what they're doing, but at the same time I think the. There is a misunderstanding for instance, in China to internet means there was a consumer internet there was a technology internet or industrial internet, the industrial internet China is actually like in way way behind the United States. They IT service spending over China is only 18 % of that. Of enterprises in the United States. But yet, because of all this fear that created about China become a technological giant that displace United States, actually I think is unfounded if you look at that data. But of course, the consumer Internet is different story because you have 800 million Consumers, 98 % of that is using smartphone. Different from US, 75 % is using smartphone. The rest is using PC. So that means the Chinese consumers that have easy access And also, you know, in China now you have the super apps, which you don't have elsewhere. Yeah. The super apps actually means that you really have access to all different kind of services by entering into one service. So there are things that China is doing is scary. Growing really fast, but there are also things that the Chinese is trying to play catch up. To catch up on. Yeah, that reality needs to be told. So question for both of you. Are you gonna be at the reception and dinner? [ LAUGH ]. Unfortunately I'm not. Okay, well Way is. This is just an appetizer for the discussions of the global economy, so I'm sorry we have to end it here. I hope you will seek out these wonderful women and Talk more about it. Thankyou both. Thankyou. [ APPLAUSE ]

MPW London 2019: Top Finance Leaders Discuss Global Growth, Risk and Innovation

Leadership

With Ann Cairns, Executive Vice Chairman of Mastercard, and Wei Sun Christianson or Morgan Stanley. 