Inclusive Disruption serves as a primary guide to help readers understand what financial technology is and how it has evolved to change the future financial landscape. The central ideas of fintech are explained in details, with topics ranging from distributed innovation, inclusive blockchain to decentralised inclusive technologies.The book also gathers the views of key opinion leaders and cutting-edge practitioners who are at the forefront of fintech development. Therefore, it not only presents useful insights about financial technology but also represents an invaluable source of knowledge for readers who are interested in fintech.

Inclusive Disruption serves as a primary guide to help readers understand what financial technology is and how it has evolved to change the future financial landscape. The central ideas of fintech are explained in details, with topics ranging from distributed innovation, inclusive blockchain to decentralised inclusive technologies.The book also gathers the views of key opinion leaders and cutting-edge practitioners who are at the forefront of fintech development. Therefore, it not only presents useful insights about financial technology but also represents an invaluable source of knowledge for readers who are interested in fintech.

This book seeks to understand the New Normal in a post-Covid-19 world, amid the ongoing battle against the pandemic. With emerging variants like Omicron, it is likely that the fight against Covid-19 would be a protracted one. It is thus timely to review how we have coped since its first outbreak in December 2019 and what the future holds from the economic, political and health perspectives.What is the New Normal in the internationalisation of the renminbi and in retail? What about China's crisis management and ASEAN-China relations in a post-Covid-19 world? What is the current scenario and future outlook of the Covid-19 fight in ASEAN? Looking forward, how do we live with the 'Twindemic' of Covid-19 and the Influenza pandemic? These questions and more are addressed in this book.

This book aims to tell the Abu Dhabi story in economic development, from its past dominance in oil to its economic vision for the future. More than being an exemplar of industrial restructuring and diversification from a resource-based to a 21st century knowledge-based economy and society, Abu Dhabi emphasises its cultural legacy and tradition as an environmental advocate for green and sustainable pathways. It has as many challenges as creative responses to show that its success is not by wealth alone. This case study unveils Abu Dhabi in particular and the rest of Arabic and GCC economic development in general. They have all attracted foreign investment and global business, typically as hydrocarbon-rich resource economies. Beyond that, the geoeconomics and geopolitics of the Middle East and North Africa, with or without the Arab Spring in 2011 is in and of itself, a rich region for multidisciplinary studies and research, not just for economics and business. With Qatar, Abu Dhabi boasts of one of the highest per capita income in the world; therein lies a reason to enquire about its success and pivotal role in the GCC and global contexts.

China's President Xi Jinping launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013. The BRI is promoted as a way for win-win cooperation that promotes common development and prosperity. Since the introduction of BRI, China organised the inaugural One Belt One Road Summit and the Second Belt and Road Forum to spur the implementation of the Initiative.President Xi emphasised that the Belt and Road projects should uphold the principles of shared benefits and joint contributions to realise the vision of a high-quality, open, green and clean BRI. Host countries can possibly gain from China's greenfield manufacturing investments to expand the BRI markets.Contributed by academics and business professionals from Asia, Europe and Africa, the chapters discuss the contemporary people, business, civil society and government developments related to the BRI and explore Health, Environment and Security (HES) challenges that confront the Initiative. This volume shows how a host country can leverage on China's investment without losing the nation's interest.

Economics Primer is a simplified, illustrated text for non-economics and economics readers alike. It introduces fundamental concepts and demonstrates their applications to day-to-day use for employers and employees in the private and public sectors. The aim is to enable all in society, at home and abroad to understand economic relationships as affecting all at large. While politics remains the primary driver of international affairs, the economics grounding including technology is as purposeful.This primer serves as a stepping stone to branch out into other fields of economics and business to understand how world events work based on the economic concepts of efficiency and equality to the extent possible including the emerging issues of health, environment and security in a globalised world.

Economics Primer is a simplified, illustrated text for non-economics and economics readers alike. It introduces fundamental concepts and demonstrates their applications to day-to-day use for employers and employees in the private and public sectors. The aim is to enable all in society, at home and abroad to understand economic relationships as affecting all at large. While politics remains the primary driver of international affairs, the economics grounding including technology is as purposeful.This primer serves as a stepping stone to branch out into other fields of economics and business to understand how world events work based on the economic concepts of efficiency and equality to the extent possible including the emerging issues of health, environment and security in a globalised world.

This book presents critical analyses of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from economic, social, political and geographical perspectives. Contributed by academics and business professionals from Asia, Europe and Australia, the chapters offer readers a range of regional viewpoints and insights into China's grand development strategy - primarily aimed at boosting connectivity across Asia and beyond via investments in infrastructural projects. The chapters also discuss the contemporary economic, financial, political and infrastructural developments related to the BRI and the challenges that confront the Initiative.This edited volume serves as a primer to China's mega strategic undertaking, a supplementary companion and reference resource to those familiar with the BRI.

Cryptocurrency market has been growing fast since its emergence in recent years. Moreover, digital finance has forged the convergence of profit motives with social objectives creating a class of large FinTech companies. In addition, the underlying technology innovation may be applied to a wide range of industries, not limited to financial sector. Yet, few researches have been done to study these phenomena. Hence, it is the task of this book to shed light on the introduction and trends in FinTech, blockchain and token sales.Richly illustrated with original lecture slides taught by the authors, Inclusive FinTech: Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and ICO hopes to dispel the many misconceptions about blockchain and cryptocurrencies (especially bitcoin, Initial Crypto-Token Offering or ICO), as well as the idea that businesses can be sustainable without a social dimension going forward. With comprehensive coverage given to the FinTech scene in Asia, it is targeted at those who are searching for business opportunities. Most important of all, this book seeks to change the mindset of a whole new generation that is familiar with digital economy and yearns for a more just and equitable world.

This unique volume aims to provide a first comprehensive assessment on attributes, conditions and characters which constitute a liveable city. The book posits that the degree of liveability depends on five themes: satisfaction with the freedom from want; satisfaction with the state of the natural environment and its management; satisfaction with freedom from fear; satisfaction with the socio-cultural conditions; and satisfaction with public governance.The authors attempt to be more constructive through performing policy simulations by first identifying relative weaknesses and strengths of 64 global cities across major continents including European, Asian, Middle Eastern, North and South American cities. The book also ranks and simulates 36 Asian cities separately, of which many are emerging third-world cities that are in need of policy guidance.

Cryptocurrency market has been growing fast since its emergence in recent years. Moreover, digital finance has forged the convergence of profit motives with social objectives creating a class of large FinTech companies. In addition, the underlying technology innovation may be applied to a wide range of industries, not limited to financial sector. Yet, few researches have been done to study these phenomena. Hence, it is the task of this book to shed light on the introduction and trends in FinTech, blockchain and token sales.Richly illustrated with original lecture slides taught by the authors, Inclusive FinTech: Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and ICO hopes to dispel the many misconceptions about blockchain and cryptocurrencies (especially bitcoin, Initial Crypto-Token Offering or ICO), as well as the idea that businesses can be sustainable without a social dimension going forward. With comprehensive coverage given to the FinTech scene in Asia, it is targeted at those who are searching for business opportunities. Most important of all, this book seeks to change the mindset of a whole new generation that is familiar with digital economy and yearns for a more just and equitable world.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Possessing a significant share of the world's oil and gas reserves and including some of the world's fastest growing economies, the GCC is a significant regional grouping. As with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the council has made significant progress towards economic integration. Seeking to draw out lessons applicable to ASEAN, this report looks at the structure and evolution of the GCC. This includes the context within which the Council was established, its rationale and economic importance. It then follows the organization's development over time, paying particular importance to its progress from Customs Union and Common Market towards Monetary Union. The report then sets out the key challenges ahead for the Council and concludes by highlighting the structural, organizational and political lessons that resonate with ASEAN and its membership.