Conference Presentation, Panel, Fireside Chat
Welcoming Remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
Milken InstituteYoshihide Suga, Michael Milken, Todd Gibbons, Thomas Gottstein, Jean Hynes, David M. Solomon
- The Prime Minister plans to continue economic reforms, prioritize the economy for the future, and establish a new Digital Agency next year to remove teleworking barriers and raise productivity.
- Plans include accepting overseas financial resources for international financial centers in Asia and the world by urgently addressing tax, legal, and visa compensation, while advancing corporate governance reform to ensure diversity in management.
- A safe Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo are targeted for the summer of next year to trigger an inbound tourism revival, with measures expected to be taken without hesitation to restore the economy.
- Credit Suisse was appointed to a lending facility on February 14th, approximately three weeks prior to a lockdown, while the speaker anticipates potential second lockdowns in European countries including Switzerland.
- The speaker expects to manage global market volatilities and liquidity demands from wholesale clients while protecting employees, noting that strong Asian development will remain the strongest of three time zones with a balanced product portfolio.
- Private markets and private debt are expected to grow strongly due to low yields and negative rates in Switzerland, the EU, and lower rates in the US, prompting a need to improve diversity and inclusion numbers in divisions over the next three years.
- ESG factors are projected to become a "tsunami" with client demand for renewable technology instruments, leading to the addition of a sustainability overlay to single stock research and the integration of ESG into the entire investment platform.
- Capital allocation is expected to shift materially toward environmental and social reasons over the coming years, with commitments to help clients accelerate sustainability trends over the next decade.
- Significant innovation in biological research is anticipated over the next 20 to 30 years following tools developed around 2010, with hopes that monoclonal antibodies will reduce hospital morbidity and that vaccine platforms will undergo necessary safety trials.
- The biopharmaceutical industry is expected to maintain high-risk capital commitments to control the pandemic therapeutically, while the digitization of consumer banking and capital raising processes will accelerate to meet client needs and reduce friction.
- Human interaction is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels despite expanding digitization, though virtual connections are projected to expand while maintaining the importance of in-person contact.
- Employee aggregation plans include addressing concerns about "time decay" from remote work, constantly communicating with the workforce, and responding to younger employees' sensitivity to purpose by restating organizational values.
- Diversity at the senior management level is expected to improve, with a commitment to increase Black and Latinx representation within three years to better reflect the societies served.
- Progress in managing the pandemic and racial issues involves dealing with a "fraying" economy where the industry must adapt to fintech competitors, while small businesses require support to maintain economic vibrancy.
- ESG factor usage by investment managers is expected to potentially double, evolving through multi-year dialogues with companies to drive change rather than single meetings.
- The industry is expected to implement significant changes to the financial sector following the pandemic, with the four panelists drawing on experience managing similar challenges related to the delayed Olympics.