Global trade in goods rebounded to above pre-pandemic level, setting new records in 2021- DHL
Singapore, which was second last year, came first in DHL’s latest Global Connectedness Index, followed by the Netherlands and then Ireland. PHOTO: AFP
SINGAPORE has supplanted the Netherlands as the world’s most globally connected country followed by the Netherlands and then Ireland, according to DHL’s 2021 Global Connectedness Index (GCI). The Republic was second in 2020.
The 2021 year’s index discusses the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic on globalisation by analysing international flows of trade, capital, information and Internet use, and people.
After steeply plummeting in April and May last year, trade in goods has rebounded to above its pre-pandemic level and has set new records in 2021, the report said.
For insight into precious metals, coffee and energy markets plus diamonds take a look at Neil’s books. His financial thrillers Trader Jack- The Story of Jack Miner and its sequel Jack of Diamonds have had excellent reviews which include comments on the in-depth research into gold and gold shares, coffee trading, energy scams, diamond markets and financial bubbles and crashes.
In Trader Jack, for example, there are chapters showing that gold shares invariably move up ahead of the gold price. The books can easily be found on Neil’s Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neil-Behrmann/e/B005HA9E3M
Butterfly Battle- The Story of the Great Insect War also had exceptional reviews. Children 8 to 12 love Neil’s anti-war fantasy and he delivers creative hour talks at schools and libraries.
Foreign direct investment flows shrunk even more than trade in 2020, but they are on track for a full recovery in 2021.
International data flows surged in 2020 as almost all in-person interactions went online due to the pandemic, but this did not break a longer-term slowdown in the globalisation of information flow.
The international flow of people sank and international travel fell by 73 per cent in 2020.
Prior to the uncertainty around the new Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus, there were “glimmers of a recovery starting in mid-2021”, the report said. Despite the arrival of Omicron, however, globalisation will continue to remain at a high level, DHL executives said at the briefing.
“The robust global trade flows and economic recovery continue to create growth opportunities in the Asia-Pacific, with Asia’s merchandise exports and imports expected to grow to 14.7 per cent and 9.4 per cent respectively above its 2019 level in 2021,” said Steve Altman, senior research scholar and director of the DHL Initiative on Globalization at the New York University’s Stern School of Business.
This year’s GCI shows that globalisation has been “much more resilient” throughout the Covid-19 crisis than many had predicted, he added.
World trade in goods has soared to above pre-pandemic levels and most other international flows are also rebounding strongly, he said, although he noted that developed countries have fared better than emerging nations.
“The resilience of global flows is good news, because a connected world offers the best prospects for a strong and sustainable recovery from the pandemic,” said Altman.
“When a crisis strikes, many of us naturally feel a strong impulse to hunker down behind borders. But the more extreme the challenge, the more urgent it becomes to draw upon the best ideas and resources from at home and abroad.”
John Pearson, chief executive officer of DHL Express, said in a statement accompanying the release of the GCI: “Many feared that the global crisis would jeopardise the progress of globalisation. We have been analysing the various international flows worldwide for years and after
1.5 years of the pandemic, we can now safely assure: the pandemic has not caused globalisation to collapse.”
© copyright Neil Behrmann.(https://neilbehrmann.net) This article was first published in The Business Times Singapore . For other Asian and global articles try https://subscribe.sph.com.sg/publications-bt/