Asian Economic Integration Report 2025

Harnessing the Benefits
of Regional Cooperation
and Integration


ADB’s Asian Economic Integration Report 2025, celebrating its 10th anniversary, examines the deepening regional integration in Asia and the Pacific over the past two decades, impacting trade, global value chains, investment, finance, and the movement of people. The report emphasizes the need for regional cooperation to boost economic resilience and competitiveness amidst geoeconomic fragmentation.

The launch event, co-organized with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Business School, Greater Eurasia Research Center (GEAR), and Institute for Emerging Market Studies (IEMS), will present the report’s key findings. It will also include a panel discussion on maximizing regional cooperation and integration to navigate the evolving geopolitical landscape while fostering a greener, more inclusive, and sustainable future for Asia and the Pacific.

Register here.

Event details:

Date/Venue:

10:00–11:30 a.m.
24 March 2025

HKUST Business School Central,
1501-02, Hong Kong Club Building, 3A Chater Road,
Central Hong Kong, China


Downloads:

Agenda (PDF)

Contacts:

  • Mara Tayag
    Senior Economics Officer, Economic Research and Development Impact Department, Asian Development Bank
    Email: mtayag@adb.org
  • Mr. Amiel Bryan Esperanza
    Operations Assistant, Economic Research and Development Impact Department, Asian Development Bank
    Email: aesperanza@adb.org

Agenda:

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9:30–10:00 a.m.
Registration*
10:00–10:05 a.m.
Opening Remarks
Albert Park Chief Economist and Director General, Economic Research and Development Impact Department, Asian Development Bank
Bio

Albert F. Park is Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Director General of its Economic Research and Development Impact Department. He is chief spokesperson on economic and development trends and leads the production of ADB’s flagship knowledge products and support for regional cooperation fora. He has more than 2 decades of experience as a development economist and is a well-known expert on the economy of the People’s Republic of China. He has worked on a broad range of development issues including poverty and inequality, intergenerational mobility, microfinance, migration and labor markets, the future of work, and foreign investment. He is Chair Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Economic Policy at HKUST (on leave). He served as a founding director of HKUST’s Institute for Emerging Market Studies and professor at the University of Oxford. A national of the United States, he received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and his doctorate in applied economics from Stanford University.

10:05–10:10 a.m.
Welcome Remarks
Kai-Lung Hui Acting Dean, Elman Family Professor of Business, Chair Professor of ISOM, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School
Bio

Kai-Lung Hui is Acting Dean of Business and Management, Elman Family Professor of Business, and Chair Professor in the Department of Information Systems, Business Statistics, and Operations Management (ISOM) at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He is also the Academic Director of the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA program. He started his career at the National University of Singapore followed by City University of Hong Kong. He returned to HKUST in 2008 and has served in various administrative roles including Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs, Associate Dean for Research, Senior Associate Dean, and Deputy Head and Head of ISOM. Prof. Hui’s research interests include cybercrime economics and policy, fintech, privacy, IT policy, and electronic commerce. His research cuts across information systems, marketing, and economics, and has been published in some of the best journals including Information Systems Research, Management Science, MIS Quarterly, and Journal of Management Information Systems, among others. Prof. Hui received his BBA and PhD degrees from HKUST.

10:10–10:35 a.m.
Presentation on the Key Findings of Asian Economic Integration Report 2025
Jong Woo Kang Director, Regional Cooperation and Integration Division, Economic Research and Development Impact Department, Asian Development Bank
Bio

Jong Woo Kang is Director of Regional Cooperation and Integration Division at the Economic Research and Development Impact Department (ERDI) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). As director, he plays a role as an interface between ADB’s internal and external stakeholders on regional cooperation and integration. He is a seasoned economist with extensive knowledge and experiences on policy and strategic issues. He was Principal Economist at ERDI, Senior Advisor to the Managing Director General of ADB, and Senior Economist at the Strategy, Policy, and Partnerships Department at ADB. He leads the annual publication of Asian Economic Integration Report. Areas of his research interest include regional integration, inclusive growth, macroeconomic policies, international trade and finance, and aid effectiveness. He published articles in economics journals such as Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Applied Economics, and Journal of World Trade. Before joining ADB, he was director at the Ministry of Finance and Economy of the Republic of Korea until 2006. He had got his bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s in public administration from Seoul National University, and PhD in economics from University of Washington.

10:35–11:15 a.m.
Panel Discussion: Harnessing the Benefits of Regional Cooperation and Integration
Chair:
Albert Park Chief Economist and Director General, Economic Research and Development Impact Department, Asian Development Bank
Bio

Albert F. Park is Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Director General of its Economic Research and Development Impact Department. He is chief spokesperson on economic and development trends and leads the production of ADB’s flagship knowledge products and support for regional cooperation fora. He has more than 2 decades of experience as a development economist and is a well-known expert on the economy of the People’s Republic of China. He has worked on a broad range of development issues including poverty and inequality, intergenerational mobility, microfinance, migration and labor markets, the future of work, and foreign investment. He is Chair Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Economic Policy at HKUST (on leave). He served as a founding director of HKUST’s Institute for Emerging Market Studies and professor at the University of Oxford. A national of the United States, he received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and his doctorate in applied economics from Stanford University.


Panelists:
William Fung Group Deputy Chairman, Fung Group
Bio

William Kwok Lun Fung is the Group Deputy Chairman of the Fung Group of companies, a Hong Kong-based multinational engaged in trading, logistics, distribution, and retailing. He serves as Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Convenience Retail Asia Limited, a publicly listed company within the Fung Group. He was the Group Chairman of Li & Fung Limited (privatized in May 2020) until October 2020. Together with his brother, Victor Fung, William played a leading role in driving the development of the supply chain infrastructure at Li & Fung Limited, which enabled it to become the leading consumer goods design, development, sourcing, and logistics company for major retailers and brands around the world. William has previously held key positions in major trade and business associations. He is a former Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Hong Kong Exporters’ Association and the Hong Kong Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC). William graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Business, degrees of Doctor of Business Administration (honoris causa) from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Hong Kong Baptist University and a degree of Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) from Wawasan Open University of Malaysia.


David Cook Acting Head, Department of Economics, HKUST
Bio

David Cook is a professor of economics at HKUST, where he has been a faculty member since 1996. David has also served as the Acting Head of the Department of Economics at HKUST since December 2021. His research interests include macroeconomics, monetary economics, and international macroeconomics. Over the years, he has published numerous articles in prestigious journals such as the Journal of International Economics, American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, and the Journal of Monetary Economics. He holds a PhD and MSc from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.


Yao Amber Li Associate Professor, Department of Economics, HKUST
Bio

Yao Amber Li is currently an associate professor of economics in School of Business and Management, associate director of Center for Economic Development and the Dean of Business and Management at the HKUST. She has been serving as vice-chairperson of the Standing Committee of the China Trade Research Group since 2019 and joint secretary-general of the Secretariat of the Quality Alliance at Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau University Alliance since 2020. Her major fields are international trade, international macroeconomics, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) economy, and development. Her research interests include knowledge diffusion, technology transfer, quality upgrading, multinational firms and FDI, firm competitiveness, and economic geography. Her recent work has focused on understanding the frictions in knowledge diffusion and the strategic responses of firms to external shocks (e.g., trade liberalization and exchange rate shocks), especially in emerging economies such as the PRC and India. She holds a master’s degree in economics from Peking University (PRC) and a PhD in economics from the University of Western Ontario, Canada.

11:15–11:30 a.m.
Open Floor Discussion

*Coffee and tea are available at 9:30 a.m. and refreshments after the event.