* All times below refer to China Standard Time

9:00 AM – 9:30 AM

Registration

9:30 AM – 9:45 AM

Welcome Session

Welcome Remarks

Wenbin Lu, President, Shanghai National Accounting Institute (SNAI)

Opening Remarks

Kouqing Li, Director, ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO)

9:45 AM – 10:30 AM

Morning Session

Keynotes Speeches: “Dawn of a New Age in the ASEAN+3?”
(10–15 minutes per speaker)

• Shangxi Liu, President, Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences (CAFS)
• Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP, virtual)
• Albert F. Park, Chief Economist, Asian Development Bank (ADB)
• Tetsushi Sonobe, Dean and CEO, Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI)

10:30 AM – 11:00 AM

Break

11:00 AM – 12:15 PM

Expert Panel: “Coping with Population Aging – Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities”
(10 minutes per panelist followed by Q&A)

Population aging, a worldwide phenomenon, is also affecting many ASEAN+3 economies, irrespective of their development levels. An aging population poses a myriad of economic challenges, including low long-run growth and productivity; higher healthcare costs; and strained public finances from rising public pension and medical provision costs amid lower tax revenues. However, it could also spur reform and innovation to address the problems or mitigate the impact (e.g., pension privatization, capital market development, automation, artificial intelligence) and even improve efficiency and overall quality of life.

Moderator:

Hoe Ee Khor, Chief Economist, AMRO

Panelists:

• Maria Ana Lugo, Lead Economist and Program Leader for Human Development for China, Mongolia and South Korea, the World Bank Group
• Sukho Lee, Senior Research Fellow, Korea Institute of Finance (KIF)
• Aiko Kikkawa, Senior Economist, Economic Research and Development Impact Department, ADB
• Allen Ng, Group Head, Regional Surveillance Group, AMRO
• Margit Molnar, Head of China Desk, Economics Department, OECD (Virtual)

12:15 PM – 2:00 PM

Lunch Break

2:00 PM – 3:15 PM

Afternoon Session

Research Panel I: “Population Aging – Productivity and Digitalization”
(10 minutes per presenter followed by comments and discussion)

Moderator:

Allen Ng, Group Head, Regional Surveillance Group, AMRO

Paper 1: Kartini Rahman and Sufrizul Husseini, Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS), Brunei Darussalam
“Population Age Structure Change and Labour Productivity: Evidence from Brunei Darussalam”

Paper 2: Aruhan Shi and Hongyan Zhao, AMRO
“Population Aging in the ASEAN+3: But is 60 the New 40?”

Paper 3: June Park, Middle East Council on Global Affairs
“Overcoming the Digital Divide in Finance for the Aging Population in South Korea on the Path toward CBDCs”

Paper 4: Yixin Yao and Xia Chen, Asian Development Bank Institute
“Smart Elderly Care Platforms in China: Practice, Challenges, and Optimization Path”

Commentators:
1. Ngoc Tien Dao, Vice-President, Foreign Trade University (FTU), Vietnam
2. Anne Oeking, Advisor to Director, Office of the Asia and Pacific, IMF
3. Jungwook Kim, Executive Director, Center for International Development, Korea Development Institute (KDI)

3:15 PM – 3:30 PM

Break

3:30 PM – 4:45 PM

Research Panel II: “Population Aging – Growth, Public Finance, and Health”
(10 minutes per presenter followed by comments and discussion)

Moderator:

Diana Cheong, Executive Director, CSPS

Paper 1: Fan Zhai, AMRO
“Macroeconomic Implications of China’s Population Aging: A Dynamic General Equilibrium Analysis”

Paper 2: Wen Xu, CAFS
“Analysis of Fiscal Policy in Dealing with the Trend of Aging Population in China”

Paper 3: Dek Joe Sum, AMRO
“Fiscal Management of Social Protection Systems in Selected Asean+3 Economies”

Paper 4: Neil Fidelle G. Lomibao and Faith Christina Q. Cacnio, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
“Can Filipino Senior Citizens Financially Cover Their Medication Needs? Some Learnings and Policy Implications”

Commentators:
1. Li Xing, Vice President, CAFS
2. Chi Hun Lee, Director, Korea Center for International Finance (KCIF)
3. Henry Mak, Senior Manager, Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research (HKIMR)

4:45 PM – 5:05 PM

Experience Sharing

Chunming Wang, Director, Smart Hospital Development Department, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medical

5:05 PM – 5:15 PM

Closing Remarks

Li Xing, Vice President, CAFS