to addressing some of the global challenges in urban development and the growth of megacities, both within asia as well as in other parts of the world. demographics third, uneven global demographics will present countries with both challenges and opportunities. developing countries with young and growing workforces will face the challenges of creating enough jobs and investing adequately in infrastructure, industry and institutions. if they succeed, they will be able to reap their “ demographic dividend ” and grow rapidly into middle - income economies. if they fail, high unemployment will cause increasing restlessness and agitation for political change and revolution. the international labour organization, in its “ global trends for youth employment 2012 ” report, attributed the arab spring protests partly to high levels of youth unemployment. such instability could similarly affect other countries, and a demographic dividend could turn into a demographic curse. at the other end of the spectrum, many advanced economies are experiencing rapidly ageing populations. decades of low birth rates coupled with affluence and access to medical care and nutrition mean that the elderly live much longer even as fewer babies are born. even as life expectancy in the eu and north america increased, the average retirement age has fallen from 68 to 63 ( from 1970 to 2010 ). the state will find difficulty financing the increased public expenditure on healthcare and pension systems given shrinking populations of working adults, falling tax revenues and high dependency ratios. in order to remain competitive, these advanced economies have 2 options. they can choose to augment their population through the import of young labour or global talent. this path leads to challenges in cultural integration. the alternative is for these countries to compensate for a stagnant and aging workforce with the deployment of technology. japan and korea are the best examples, relying on an increasing level of automation and sophisticated robotics. as demographics change, so too will consumer demands. singapore is positioning itself to attract companies to monitor and understand these changes within asia. the singaporebased asian consumer insights institute, launched in 2011, is helping companies to develop and test - bed asian - specific products and business strategies. in 2012, nielsen, a global provider of consumer insights, chose singapore to launch an innovation hub. this hub, the first of its kind in asia, will develop new technologies and methodologies in neuroscience, shopper technology, and measurement science to enhance consumer and market insights for companies working to reach consumers in asia. technology the final trend i ’ d like to talk about is that of technology. technology, especially information technology, continues

will form within asia as a result of this integration. in 1990, 20 years ago, the developed economies dominated the world trade map. europe was responsible for over half of the world ’ s exports, although these were mainly intra - europe flows. in 2010, this map has changed with the global shift in manufacturing to asia, with china accounting for 9 out of the top 25 bilateral trade routes by value. by 2030, 20 years from now, the centre of gravity of global trade patterns is projected to shift even further to within asia, with china accounting for 17 out of the top 25 bilateral trade routes, overtaking trade links between developed countries like japan - usa, germany - usa that will grow but they will grow much more slowly. within asia, trade patterns will evolve. with increasing urbanisation and consumer demand, china ’ s trade with developed asia, will change. it will start to import relatively more finished bis central bankers ’ speeches consumer goods from japan, korea and singapore. these bilateral trade routes are not new, but they will rise in importance. china ’ s trade with developing asia, particularly with malaysia, thailand and indonesia, will propel these bilateral trade routes into the top 25 bilateral trade routes by 2030. indonesia in particular, with low wage costs and proximity to china, is well placed to become the next manufacturing hub and sell low - end manufactured products back to the chinese. the shift in centre of gravity of world trade to asia is more than a china story. as developing asian economies become wealthier, they will consume more and trade more with each other. for example, bilateral trade between thailand and indonesia is projected to be almost five times as high in 2030 as it was in 2009. to support this asian integration, countries in asia have already come together on regional platforms to foster greater openness and cooperation. for example, asean has concluded free trade agreements ( ftas ) with australia, new zealand, china, korea, japan, and india. the asean - china fta alone covers over 1. 9 billion consumers and an estimated trade volume of us $ 1. 2 trillion. as asia grows and comes together economically, global companies that aim to have a share of the pie will have to develop strategies and production models that are customised for asia. singapore exists at the confluence of these emerging trade routes within asia and as well as between asia and other regions. we have positioned ourselves as global - asia hub to take advantage of asia ’ s growth. our strategic location