Here we are, more than halfway through 2021, and an end to the pandemic remains elusive. Thankfully, some countries can now focus on vaccination rates and reaching herd immunity, but in others there are fresh outbreaks. For all the enormous progress, the world is far from out of the woods. New waves include those of the Delta variant, which is more virulent and contagious.
Columnist Rich Karlgaard posits a world in which we will see a “roaring” 2020s, a global boom that will follow the conclusion of this pandemic, mimicking what happened in the 1920s after the end of the Spanish Flu pandemic. Yet it’s unclear how much darkness remains before that dawn. Patience appears to be gaining ground as a necessary trait in today’s world.
Wallapa Traisorat, CEO of Asset World Corp. (AWC) and she’s among a handful of women CEOs leading a major Thai company.
Courtesy of Asset World Corp.
The value of playing a long game can be seen in the two profiles of Thai entrepreneurs in this issue. Wallapa Traisorat is leveraging off the solid financials of her family’s Asset World Corp. to systematically invest and build out projects in Thailand—all in anticipation of an eventual recovery.
Bangkok Bank’s Chartsiri Sophonpanich, meanwhile, has done a landmark acquisition of Bank Permata in Indonesia, which sets the stage for long-term growth of the newly enlarged bank. Both of them are examples of how entrepreneurs should take calculated risks that discount the immediate gloom in favor of a brighter future.
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The two are also connected to the list of Thailand’s 50 Richest, whose total wealth is also up by a fifth to $160 billion, underpinned by a rise in both exports and the local stock market. The Thai government is doing its part to overcome the pandemic with new measures to entice international visitors back to the land of smiles, as well as beefing up vaccinations and other Covid-fighting measures.
Another illustration of taking a long-term view is the inaugural 50 Over 50 list of extraordinary women in the U.S. who achieved their greatest success after the age of 50. Among the business figures on that list are Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, and Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup.
As Mika Brzezinski writes in the list’s introduction: “It’s a reminder to all of us that there’s no rush—that we can stop and smell the flowers and enjoy every experience, every twist and turn, all of which provide yet another building block.” In the midst of a pandemic, that’s welcome advice.
As always, all comments welcome at editor@forbesasia.com.