Forecasting China: 
Trends in the Economy and Finance

Discussion:  The world’s second largest economy is at a crossroads. As China’s pace of economic growth slows, emerging risks suggest the need for structural changes in the economy and banking sectors.  In 2013, the Chinese government unveiled an ambitious blueprint for reforms. Will China successfully overhaul its growth model to accomplish this agenda? What are some of the indicators to watch out for during this transition?  Three experts from Fitch Ratings will share their insights on important issues such as sovereign risk, banking sector performance, and rising corporate leverage in China as we enter the New Year.

About the Moderator and Speakers

Erin McCune, Partner, Glenbrook Partners:  Erin McCune is a partner at Glenbrook Partners, a boutique strategy consulting firm focused exclusively on the payments industry. Her efforts at Glenbrook center on client engagements in business-to-business payments, bill payment, cross-border transactions, global eCommerce, and the emergence of math-based currencies. She is the immediate past president of Financial Women of San Francisco and also a two-term past president of the San Francisco Treasury Management Association. She lives in San Francisco, bakes her own sourdough bread, and relies on her bicycle to get around town.

Andrew Colquhoun, Senior Director  & Head of Asia-Pacific Sovereign Ratings, Fitch Ratings:  Andrew Colquhoun joined Fitch Ratings as a director in the Sovereign Group in 2006. He covered a range of credits on the Emerging Europe team for over three years before transferring to Fitch’s Asia-Pacific Sovereigns team, based in Hong Kong, in 2009. He is currently the Head of Asia Pacific Sovereign Ratings and is the lead analyst for a number of countries in the region.

Jonathan Cornish, Head of Bank Ratings – North Asia, Fitch Ratings:  Jonathan Cornish is currently the Head of Bank Ratings – North Asia and is responsible for all bank ratings in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Mongolia. He is also a Managing Director in the Financial Institutions group, and the Head of the Hong Kong office. Jonathan joined Fitch Ratings in 1998, and was a Senior Director in the Credit Policy Group, a Senior Director in the Asia-Pacific Corporate Ratings Group, and Regional Head of the Telecom, Media and Technology team.  

Andrew Steel, Managing Director & Head of Asia-Pacific Corporate Ratings Group, Fitch Ratings:  Andrew Steel is a regional managing director of Fitch Ratings Ltd and is responsible for Fitch’s corporate ratings activities in the Asia-Pacific region. His group rates issuers across all corporate sectors – industrials, telecom media and technology, energy and utilities, real estate, retail leisure and consumer products, shipping and transportation, on both international and national rating scales. Prior to taking up his new role as Head of the Corporate Ratings Group for Asia Pacific, Andrew was head of Fitch’s Energy, Utilities and Regulation rating services in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa from 2004 to 2010.