By KATIE DODD
On Wednesday 6th October, we celebrated the launch of Russell Napier’s new book.
Titled ‘The Asian Financial Crisis 1995-1998: Birth of the Age of Debt, the book charts Russell’s personal journey during the crisis as he wrote daily for institutional investors about an increasingly uncertain future. Relying on contemporaneous commentary, it charts the mistakes and successes of investors in the battle for investment survival in Asia from 1995–98, focussing on the clash of business cultures and why the post crisis settlement created the age of debt.
Russell gave a summary of his new book and its relevance to today’s macroeconomic environment. The highlights he touched upon included;
– Anecdotes of the extreme imbalances reached in the late 1990s within Asia and the signals Russell noted at that time
– The effect the Asian Financial Crisis had on the path of socio-political development and governance models in North Asia vs South East Asia
– The authorities’ reactions to successive crises (Asia, LTCM, Russia) and how that heralded an era of super low interest rates and the consequent building of enormous debt balances
– Russell therefore draws a line from the Asian crisis to the risks of today
On the evening we were also joined by some local food and drink suppliers including Black Book Winery, Springs’ Salmon, Paxton & Whitfield, Oystermeister and Seven Cherries.
We were delighted to see so many faces back in the office, many of whom were working in Asia during the period.
A picture gallery of the evening can be viewed here.