Promoting Regional Development Bank Complementarity: Challenges to Asia and Lessons from Europe. EU Centre Working Paper No. 26, June 2016

As the international development finance architecture decentralises, a plethora of regional multilateral development banks (MDBs) emerge. The institutional landscape in Asia is transforming with the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). This working paper aims to shed light on the horizontal relationship between the traditional development actor, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the nascent AIIB. Based on the collaborative experiences of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), this paper recommends that ADB and the AIIB should form a tri-partite coordination mechanism to promote cooperation and equality, develop complementary portfolios in terms of sectoral exposure and geographical coverage, and co-fund projects to catalyse greater inter-agency cooperation. The resulting synergies will stitch the two institutions into an interdependent and coherent development finance structure in Asia and beyond

The Drivers of Current Account Surplus in Germany and the Politics of Rebalancing in the Eurozone. EU Centre, Singapore Working Paper No. 24, April 2015

Current account deficits have caught the public’s attention as they have contributed to the European debt crisis. However, surpluses also constitute an issue as a deficit in any country must be financed through a surplus in another country. In 2013, Germany, now the world’s largest surplus economy, registered a record high US$273 billion surplus. This paper looks at what accounts for Germany’s surplus, revealing that the major driving factors include strong global demand for quality German exports, domestic wage restraint, an undervalued single currency, high domestic savings rate and interest rate convergence in the euro area. This paper echoes the US Treasury’s view that a persistent German surplus makes it harder for the eurozone as a whole and the southern peripheral economies in particular to recover from the current financial crisis by imposing a Europe-wide “deflationary bias” through pushing up the exchange rate of the euro, exporting feeble German inflation and projecting its ultra-tight macroeconomic policies onto crisis economies. This paper contends that Germany’s trade surplus is likely to endure as Germany and other eurozone countries uphold diverging views on the nature of the surplus engage in a blame-game amidst a sluggish rebalancing process. Prizing the surplus as a reflection of hard work and economic competitiveness, German authorities urge their southern eurozone colleagues to undertake bold structural reforms to correct the imbalance, while the hand-tied governments in crisis-stricken economies call on Germany to do its “homework” by boosting German demands for European goods and services

Shear strength and fracture toughness of carbon fibre/epoxy interface: effect of surface treatment

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Textile-reinforced composites have become increasingly attractive as protection materials for various applications, including sports. In such applications it is crucial to maintain both strong adhesion at fibre-matrix interface and high interfacial fracture toughness, which influence mechanical performance of composites as well as their energy-absorption capacity. Surface treatment of reinforcing fibres has been widely used to achieve satisfactory fibre-matrix adhesion. However, most studies till date focused on the overall composite performance rather than on the interface properties of a single fibre/epoxy system. In this study, carbon fibres were treated by mixed acids for different durations, and resulting adhesion strength at the interface between them and epoxy resin as well as their tensile strength were measured in a microbond and microtensile tests, respectively. The interfacial fracture toughness was also analysed. The results show that after an optimum 15-30. min surface treatment, both interfacial shear strength and fracture toughness of the interface were improved alongside with an increased tensile strength of single fibre. However, a prolonged surface treatment resulted in a reduction of both fibre tensile strength and fracture toughness of the interface due to induced surface damage

Strength prediction for bi-axial braided composites by a multi-scale modelling approach

Braided textile-reinforced composites have become increasingly attractive as protection materials thanks to their unique inter-weaving structures and excellent energy-absorption capacity. However, development of adequate models for simulation of failure processes in them remains a challenge. In this study, tensile strength and progressive damage behaviour of braided textile composites are predicted by a multi-scale modelling approach. First, a micro-scale model with hexagonal arrays of fibres was built to compute effective elastic constants and yarn strength under different loading conditions. Instead of using cited values, the input data for this micro-scale model were obtained experimentally. Subsequently, the results generated by this model were used as input for a meso-scale model. At meso-scale, Hashin’s 3D with Stassi’s failure criteria and a modified Murakami-type stiffness-degradation scheme was employed in a user-defined subroutine developed in the general-purpose finite-element software Abaqus/Standard. An overall stress–strain curve of a meso-scale representative unit cell was verified with the experimental data. Numerical studies show that bias yarns suffer continuous damage during an axial tension test. The magnitudes of ultimate strengths and Young’s moduli of the studied braided composites decreased with an increase in the braiding angle

Strength prediction for bi-axial braided composites by a multi-scale modelling approach

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10853-016-9901-z.Braided textile-reinforced composites have become increasingly attractive as protection materials thanks to their unique inter-weaving structures and excellent energy-absorption capacity. However, development of adequate models for simulation of failure processes in them remains a challenge. In this study, tensile strength and progressive damage behaviour of braided textile composites are predicted by a multi-scale modelling approach. First, a micro-scale model with hexagonal arrays of fibres was built to compute effective elastic constants and yarn strength under different loading conditions. Instead of using cited values, the input data for this micro-scale model were obtained experimentally. Subsequently, the results generated by this model were used as input for a meso-scale model. At meso-scale, Hashin’s 3D with Stassi’s failure criteria and a modified Murakami-type stiffness-degradation scheme was employed in a user-defined subroutine developed in the general-purpose finite-element software Abaqus/Standard. An overall stress–strain curve of a meso-scale representative unit cell was verified with the experimental data. Numerical studies show that bias yarns suffer continuous damage during an axial tension test. The magnitudes of ultimate strengths and Young’s moduli of the studied braided composites decreased with an increase in the braiding angle

Multi-functional hybrid protonated titanate nanobelts with tunable wettability

We present the preparation of millimetre-sized liquid marbles with strong mechanical strength and good deformability using self-assembled fluoroalkylsilane functionalized titanate nanobelt powder. The strength and deformability of the marbles are adjustable by changing the intrinsic wetting state of the titanate nanoparticles. The excellent chemical stability of surface layer on the liquid marbles consisting of the titanate nanobelts provides the possibility for qualitative and quantitative chemical sensing under a wide range of pH values.Environment and Water Industry Programme Office (EWI) under the National Research Foundation of Singapore[MEWR651/06/160]; National Nature Science Foundation of China[20773100, 51072170, 20620130427]; National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program)[2007CB935603]; Technical Program of Fujian Province, China[2007H0031

Competitive mega-regionalism : the trilateral geo-economic power play by the United States of America, China and the European Union

Free trade agreement (FTA) is an increasingly important platform for countries to pursue reciprocal trade liberalisation outside the multilateral framework. The latest wave of regionalism took shape of mega-regionals (mega-FTAs) – deep and expansive trade alliances between countries or regions with a dominant share of world economy, trade and population. Key mega-FTAs include the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the EU-initiated Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The fact that these three unprecedented mega-FTAs, championed by competition trading powers, burst upon the global scene within a rather circumscribed period of time (early 2010 to mid-2013) is intellectually puzzling. This dissertation explains why and how the three mega-FTAs suddenly came into being using a competitive policy diffusion framework. Unlike existing regionalism scholarship which tends to ‘vertically’ analyse FTAs as separate entities arising out of autonomous government decisions to entertain domestic concerns, this study undertakes a ‘horizontal’ diffusion-oriented research agenda to investigate the causally linked calculus of major power participation in the on-going mega-regionalism at the international strategic level. It conceptualises mega-FTA as a geo-economic strategy for the US, China and the EU to compete against each other, economically, politically and legally. It is argued that the TPP allowed the US to reap economic benefits from freer trade, demonstrate regional leadership and disseminate a favourable trade temple at the direct expenses of China. The disadvantaged China was then pressurised to respond in kind by launching a countervailing mega-trade pact of its own, i.e. RCEP, to level the playing field. The US’ TPP and China’s subsequent resorting to RCEP as its defence mechanism generated cumulative negative externalities along economic, political and legal dimensions for the EU, forcing the bloc to abandon its long-standing multilateralism-centred trade policy paradigm to enter into TTIP negotiations. The move by the US, the counter-move by China and the counter-countermove by the EU eventually gave rise to the wave of mega-regionalism as we have observed in recent times. A mixed method research design involving quantitative, qualitative and perceptual perspectives is adopted by this dissertation. Great power competition in the economic realm is captured by two formal approaches to international political economy. The computational general equilibrium simulations using the modified Global Trade Analysis Project model suggest that the logic of economic competition is premised on the international distributional effects of mega-FTA in terms of creating trade among participating economies while diverting trade away from non-members. The modelling results inform a follow-up game theoretical analysis to help visualise the way in which the economic competition unfolded in payoff matrices. Case study and content analysis methods are engaged to put up my arguments about political/legal competition and sketch out the broader historic backgrounds against which the genesises of mega-FTAs must be viewed. In a final step, a perception survey soliciting representative thinking of Asian experts was conducted to strengthen the main findings of the dissertation. The triangulation of data and arguments provide stronger evidence to the present dissertation’s conclusion that the trilateral geo-economic power play on the part of the US, China and the EU is the key cause and driver of the latest wave of mega-regionalism.Doctor of Philosoph

Promoting regional development bank complementarity : challenges to Asia and lessons from Europe

As the international development finance architecture decentralises, a plethora of regional multilateral development banks (MDBs) emerge. The institutional landscape in Asia is transforming with the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). This working paper aims to shed light on the horizontal relationship between the traditional development actor, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the nascent AIIB. Based on the collaborative experiences of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), this paper recommends that ADB and the AIIB should form a tri-partite coordination mechanism to promote cooperation and equality, develop complementary portfolios in terms of sectoral exposure and geographical coverage, and co-fund projects to catalyse greater inter-agency cooperation. The resulting synergies will stitch the two institutions into an interdependent and coherent development finance structure in Asia and beyond

The drivers of current account surplus in Germany and the politics of rebalancing in the Eurozone

Current account deficits have caught the public’s attention as they have contributed to the European debt crisis. However, surpluses also constitute an issue as a deficit in any country must be financed through a surplus in another country. In 2013, Germany, now the world’s largest surplus economy, registered a record high US$273 billion surplus. This paper looks at what accounts for Germany’s surplus, revealing that the major driving factors include strong global demand for quality German exports, domestic wage restraint, an undervalued single currency, high domestic savings rate and interest rate convergence in the euro area. This paper echoes the US Treasury’s view that a persistent German surplus makes it harder for the eurozone as a whole and the southern peripheral economies in particular to recover from the current financial crisis by imposing a Europe-wide “deflationary bias” through pushing up the exchange rate of the euro, exporting feeble German inflation and projecting its ultra-tight macroeconomic policies onto crisis economies. This paper contends that Germany’s trade surplus is likely to endure as Germany and other eurozone countries uphold diverging views on the nature of the surplus engage in a blame-game amidst a sluggish rebalancing process. Prizing the surplus as a reflection of hard work and economic competitiveness, German authorities urge their southern eurozone colleagues to undertake bold structural reforms to correct the imbalance, while the hand-tied governments in crisis-stricken economies call on Germany to do its “homework” by boosting German demands for European goods and services

Rising Protectionism in US: Asia-Pacific’s Response

Asia-Pacific countries cannot influence decisions in the US, but they can pursue a three-pronged response that should enhance their resilience to possible global shocks generated by Trump’s protectionist policies