With covid restrictions tightening around Asia because of the Omicron Covid variant, some businesses are finding themselves stuck in limbo instead of getting back to quasi-normal. Hopefully, the Omnicron variant will not be as serious as first thought and people can get slowly back to normality. Omnicron of course is not the only risk that Asia and the world faces. A few days ago, people were enjoying the beach here in Busan where I live, the coffee shops were packed, including the one on the beach where I usually write, restaurants were busy and people were enjoying themselves. Even the baseball stadiums were packed. Then came Omicron. But also other risks too. With business increasing in parts of Asia, the Supply Chain itself had been stretched thin. Supply risks emerged. Other risks also began to surface such as the current semi-conductor chip shortage. Inflation is beginning to rear its ugly head (inflation in Korea is at the highest rate since 2012) and other major areas of risk such as employment, geo-political and currency-related risks are once again knocking on the door. So if you are doing business in Asia or thinking about doing business in Asia you must identify the risks.
As the world scrambles to try and normalize, Asia- the world’s primary source of manufacturing, is fraught with many areas of risk. Companies seeking to do business in Asia, whether Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam, or elsewhere, have to be very careful when it comes to risk. Besides Covid, operational, financial, legal, geopolitical, and environmental-related risks are all major areas of concern. Cyber-related risks are also increasing as they are in other parts of the world. As companies and countries start to address Covid related lockdowns, it is very apparent that companies must consider a multitude of risks. In fact, companies must be laser-focused on managing the many areas of risk, especially in Asia.
Obviously, risk management companies are a good resource for companies to use when managing risk. Other resources exist too, such as risk reports which identify risks on a regular basis.
One such report or report that is specifically focused on countries in Asia as well as Southeast Asia generally, happens to be Erudite Risk’s Daily Risk Briefing (DRB) Reports for Asian countries including Korea, Japan, Vietnam, China, and others. Erudite’s risk reports monitor intelligence in 12 countries across Asia and collect data from over 1000 sources on a daily basis. I highly recommend this report for those doing business in Asia whether it is Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, or Asia as a whole. It is the most comprehensive risk-related report I have read that provides daily updates in a country-specific or regional manner. You can find out more at Erudite’s website- www.eruditerisk.com or for a sample go to the South Korean daily risk report page at the following link:
https://www.erudite.com/drb-intelligence/South%20Korea
