The key themes of 2021 are all about growth.
It’s a year that will bring challenges as well as opportunities – and the lessons of an unprecedented 2020 will be critical.
A year of quick, transformational decisions drove levels of innovation in business not seen for some time. In 2021 we need to harness that quick decision making and desire to innovate, and use it to return the economy to growth.
This will require industry as a whole to rethink how we produce our goods, how we trade those goods, and where and how we sell. It’s a year that, more than never, we’ll need to build a greater understanding of our customers and our communities.
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Technology will play a crucial role. Data will help businesses make better, more fact-based decisions. And the outcomes of those decisions will need to be sustainable – both from an environmental and social perspective.
At ANZ, we're seeing a welcome shift in attitudes toward sustainability from investors, analysts, our customers and the community, and we expect that to continue in 2021. Everyone now realises sustainability must be made a priority.
Outlook 2021
After an unprecedented 2020, the outlook for 2021 is a difficult one to pin down. The post-COVID landscape is one of rapid technological change, a transformational shakeup of global trading orthodoxy, and an increasing focus on sustainable business practices.
At ANZ Institutional, we aim to help our customers put themselves in the best possible position to take advantage of these forces. Our subject-matter experts have the insight to offer market-leading thought leadership in a range of complex areas from across more than 30 global markets.
As 2021 looms, we are asking our experts about the key factors they see shaping markets and industry in 2021 – and the opportunities and challenges within. We’ll be sharing the responses with you over the coming weeks.
Impact
COVID-19 is not going away in a hurry. We simply don't yet know exactly the full impact the pandemic is going to have on the economy, both in the Asia-Pacific region and globally.
What we have for certain are workforces that need reenergising if we are to get the growth story underway.
The challenge for business is getting people working together, sharing ideas, and supporting one another. This will take bringing back jobs, and innovating for what the future asks from us.
I’m an optimist and am confident we can overcome these challenges and capitalise on the opportunities of 2021, by thinking about what we learned in 2020, putting it behind us and starting fresh in the New Year.
Tammy Medard is MD, Institutional Australia at ANZ