Our News
09 October 2020
Fraser Thompson discusses the importance of the circular economy for Indonesia
19 June 2020
Fraser Thompson discusses how digital tools can help Asia’s governments optimize public finance management
In this new Unmasked Interview, AlphaBeta CEO Fraser Thompson tells TFI about the report’s findings and how they can bring the financial revolution to Asia’s low-income countries.
11 June 2020
Fraser Thompson discusses digital technology implications in Asia from COVID-19
AlphaBeta Director Fraser Thompson spoke to Mark Braithwaite (the Managing Director of Odgers Berndtson in the Asia Pacific) about the digital technology implications from COVID-19.
09 June 2020
Op-ed: We have a once-in-a-generation chance to reset our economy
Even before the COVID-19 crisis, the engine of our economy was getting rusty, AlphaBeta director Andrew Charlton writes in the Australian Financial Review.
09 June 2020
AlphaBeta partners with illion to track the economic impact of COVID-19
AlphaBeta Australia has partnered with credit bureau illion to deliver Australia's fastest tracker of economic activity through COVID-19.
15 November 2019
The economic opportunity of digital skilling in Japan (insights from forthcoming research)
AlphaBeta is currently conducting research to examine the value of digital skills for Japan’s economy and to identify ways in which government, the private sector, and civil society can come together to capture this opportunity.
06 November 2019
AlphaBeta opens new Canberra office
AlphaBeta has expanded into a new office to support its fast-growing corporate and government advisory business in Canberra.
03 September 2019
AlphaBeta launches small business energy cost benchmarking tool
AlphaBeta has partnered with Xero and the Australian Government to launch Small Business Energy Check, a simple, data-driven tool designed to help small businesses reduce their energy costs.
12 August 2019
Automation compels workforce to brush up
Indonesia's need for automation in industries is growing amid a slow workforce growth rate, the Jakarta Post reports, quoting an AlphaBeta-Prospera study.
09 August 2019
Govt searches for ways to bridge yawning skills gap
Our report with Prospera on Indonesia's automation potential featured on the front page of the Jakarta Post.
08 August 2019
US-China trade wars a ‘serious’ threat to Australian economy, expert warns
Australia faces a 'very serious' threat as a deepening of the US-China trade war highlights weaknesses in the domestic economy, AlphaBeta's Andrew Charlton warns in an ABC News article.
12 June 2019
Highlighting the need for urgent action on deforestation
AlphaBeta partnered with IDH - The Sustainable Trade Initiative to highlight that Europe is behind on commitments to ensure 100 percent sustainable sourcing of key tropical commodities by 2020.
14 May 2019
AlphaBeta weighs in on OTT regulation in Vietnam
Dr Konstantin Matthies joins stakeholders from industry and government to talk VOD opportunity in Vietnam.
30 April 2019
The value of Digital Trade to ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand
Dr. Fraser Thompson discusses Digital Trade at the ASEAN-CER Integration Partnership Forum in Melbourne.
04 April 2019
Tackling Asia’s Plastic and Solid Waste
Asia has become a true consumption powerhouse in recent decades. However, greater consumption also means greater waste generated. How will we tackle the greatest trash crisis of our time?
12 March 2019
Managing Singapore’s Packaging Waste
As the National Environmental Agency’s (NEA) appointed consultant for Singapore’s Mandatory Packaging Waste Reporting framework, AlphaBeta was proud to have organised and facilitated the industry consultation session on 12 March 2019.
06 March 2019
Protein Market: Size of the Prize Analysis for Australia
AlphaBeta was commissioned by Food Innovation Australia Limited (FIAL) to conduct a study on the key opportunities for Australian food and agribusinesses in the global protein market. This first-of-its-kind analysis of 50 protein types sheds light on how an additional $55 billion could be captured by the Australia if food and agribusinesses shift their thinking from ‘commodity’ to ‘high-value’ protein by 2025.
06 February 2019
Op-ed: Expect future jobs to require lifelong learning
Millennials will be the last generation sent out into the world with a qualification that is expected to last a lifetime, AlphaBeta director Andrew Charlton writes in The Australian.
10 December 2018
CSIRO CEO Dr Larry Marshall talks AgTech in ASEAN with Fraser Thompson
Dr Fraser Thompson sits down with CSIRO CEO Dr Larry Marshall to discuss the Australian business opportunities on agriculture innovation and AgTech in ASEAN.
05 December 2018
Jobs anxiety ‘hampering policy’
Automation anxiety may have peaked in 2018, and those fears have real costs, AlphaBeta Director Andrew Charlton says in an article in The Australian.
15 November 2018
There’s so much robots can’t do – like take our jobs
Jobs growth in Australia last year was the fastest since the early 2000s. About 330,000 workers lost their jobs involuntarily through redundancies or business closures, according to research by AlphaBeta.
08 November 2018
Insights on getting ahead in Asia
What do companies in Asia need to do get ahead? Fraser Thompson, AlphaBeta Director in Singapore, shares his insights on how companies need to be self-sustaining in Asia.
27 September 2018
How can Vietnam leverage the digital economy opportunity?
The digital economy holds significant opportunity for South East Asia, and Vietnam in particular. However, leveraging this opportunity to the fullest requires sound regulation and government support of an open conducive digital economy.
19 September 2018
Digital Innovation: Australia’s $315bn Opportunity
Digital innovation can deliver $315 billion in gross economic value to Australia over the next decade, making it a critical ingredient in the nation’s ongoing economic stress. The economic opportunity is great. However, there is a risk Australia will not fully realise it.
03 August 2018
Will this be the Asian century?
Asia’s economic transformation has been historically unprecedented, both in pace and scale. But can the Asian economic model adapt to the growing list of stresses that have been placed on it?
27 July 2018
Op-ed: Myanmar can avoid resource curse
Myanmar is blessed with sizeable endowments of mining minerals, ranging from tin and copper to gemstones such as rubies and sapphires. It also has a substantial amount of oil and gas
11 July 2018
Why economics is cool!
What do you think when you hear the word “economics”? Do you think of Wall Street and banks and business? Many people think so, but economics go much deeper.
11 May 2018
AlphaBeta Director Fraser Thompson on Asia’s megatrends
What are the Asian mega trends that businesses cannot ignore? Fraser Thompson, AlphaBeta director in Singapore, was invited to speak as a thought leader in a new video series
03 April 2018
Feature article: Australia’s political model is breaking down
Is there any Australian left who hasn’t complained, or at least rolled their eyes about the state of politics in Canberra? Andrew Charlton looks at recent election trends to understand why Australian ....
27 November 2017
AlphaBeta Helps to Tackle Plastic Waste in the Ocean
There could be one ton of plastic waste in the world’s oceans for every three tons of fish in the year 2025. AlphaBeta Director Fraser Thompson explored new ways to reduce marine plastic waste at the ....
22 November 2017
How Australian businesses can tap into the ASEAN opportunity
Australian businesses are facing exciting opportunities right on their doorstep in Southeast Asia, but most of them aren’t aware of it. Even those who are aware of these opportunities often fail to capture ....
15 November 2017
Op-ed: Why machines won’t generate mass unemployment
Technological change has long been a source of anxiety for workers. But the doomsayers are misreading the signs....
06 November 2017
AlphaBeta in Africa: How geospatial technology could transform Nigeria
New technologies can be a game changer for developing countries. A visit to Africa put recent AlphaBeta research under the spotlight....
02 November 2017
Andrew Charlton’s essay on The Robot Race in The Monthly
The robots are coming for our jobs – but there is a silver lining. ...
09 October 2017
AlphaBeta presents new research at leading Indian tech conference
The video-on-demand industry in Asia is forecast to boom in coming years. What are the economic benefits for economies, filmmakers and consumers? Nicolo’ Andreula, Principal at AlphaBeta ....
02 October 2017
Interview: Australia’s extraordinary boom masks need for economic reform
What lies behind Australia’s 26-year run of uninterrupted economic growth? Andrew Charlton, Sydney-based Director at AlphaBeta Advisors, talks to Bloomberg TV...
23 March 2017
ABC The Business: Three Years of Record Low Interest Rates Coming Home to Roost in ….
As the RBA fires its warning shot on rocketing house prices, the Federal Government could be running out of ammunition to tackle affordability. Andrew Charlton is a leading Economist and a ....
02 December 2016
BBC Business Daily: India’s Green Revolution
Today we are talking revolutions – not those fought on the battlefield or city streets – but those waged in agriculture. It’s 50 years since a Green Revolution began transforming India’s rice
07 November 2016
Take Charge of Your Future Work Realities
In the movie Back to the Future II (1985), Dr Emmett Brown (“Doc”), an eccentric inventor and scientist, briefly transports protagonist Marty McFly to 21 October 2015. McFly, a curious teenager, gets a ....
27 October 2016
Using technology to serve the unbanked in ASEAN
Digital financial services can be crucial for overcoming the tyranny of geography in Southeast Asia, where traditional financial institutions have found it difficult to build out their footprint
27 October 2016
ABC Lateline: Future of Jobs
A special report on the future of employment, with predictions that half of young Australians are preparing themselves now for 40% of jobs that are at risk.
06 July 2016
Rethinking Industry Policy
AlphaBeta report by Andrew Charlton & Fraser Thompson. Seven rules for pro-competitive, pro-Globalisation industry policy: ‘Active industrial policy should be guided by practical experience of what
02 June 2016
Tropical forests: Can profit and protection go hand in hand?
There is a perception that sustainable land use and forest conservation come at the cost of economic prosperity. New research finds that this is not the case. ...
13 May 2016
Firms should seize the openings from new S’pore-Australia pact
ENGAGEMENT with Asia has been part of the economic mantra of every Australian government since the 1980s. In that time, Australia's trade with Asia has soared, but many of those bilateral economic
08 January 2016
ABC 7.30 Report: Dr Andrew Charlton on China’s Economic Challenges and Opportunities
Andrew Charlton describes China’s economic challenges in five minutes on ABC 7.30. AlphaBeta has been warning that China’s growth was unsustainable since 2011. ...
09 December 2015
Workforce and productivity summit: Robots threaten youth jobs
Business leaders are calling for simpler, consistent rules for employing young people – and a new ‘simple’ award for small business employees – as part of a national response to the worsening
02 December 2015
ASEAN could be Australia’s next growth frontier
Recently, Australia brought its largest ever overseas delegation of businesses to Jakarta as part of the Indonesia-Australia Business Week. It is the latest in a series of actions that seek to build
30 September 2015
The Lucky 8 – Preparing for the new China
AlphaBeta’s recent research trip: Eight opportunities for Australian business in the new Chinese economy.
08 September 2015
China’s Transition: Risks and Opportunities for South-East Asia
The substantial devaluation of the Reminbi against the US dollar and the tumbling Chinese stock markets have renewed global concerns that the Chinese economic miracle is coming to an end
01 September 2015
Kick starting growth after the mining boom in Australia and Canada
The Business -ABC News. Reporter: Michael Janda. Canada has already slipped into recession. Business reporter, Michael Janda compares two of the world;s most resource dependent
21 August 2015
AlphaBeta has been forecasting Chinese slowdown since 2011
7.30 Report – ABC. Reporter: Pat MacGrath. China could be on course for an economic shock worst than the late 90s one in parts of Asia, and it’s already plunged the Australian share market deep
28 July 2015
Australian Economic Note: The ask has a growth problem
Australian companies are on an investment strike that is already making the ASX one of the lowest earnings-growth share markets in the world and threatens to damage long term returns for Australian
06 July 2015
Income shock forces Australians to raid savings
Australian Financial Review, by Jacob Greber. ‘Australia’s living standards are falling on a sustained basis for the first time in 50 years – this is not a short-term trend,’ said Andrew Charlton, co-founder
06 July 2015
Australian Economic Update – Is Australia still developed country?
Resource exports still tanking: Australia’s trade data released today shows that our resources exports are in serious trouble. The news coverage has positively reported that our ‘trade deficit shrank in May.’
06 July 2015
‘Banana‘ republic‘ tag haunts Australia 30 years on
Australia's export base has narrowed to levels approaching that of a "banana republic,'' a former government adviser says, raising the specter of the country's economic nadir almost 30 years ago.
10 June 2015
Singapore’s Productivity Imperative: the three missing pieces
Singapore Business Times by Fraser Thompson. As Noble laureate, Paul Krugman famously noted, ‘Productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run is it almost everything.’ It is the ultimate