Shai Oster | China & Southeast Asia's Tech Investment Landscape

The Negotiation

In this episode of The Negotiation, we are excited to be joined by Shai Oster, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who recently served as Asia Bureau Chief for The Information. Shai previously worked at the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, with postings spanning China, Europe, and the U.S. He's now working as an independent strategy and communications consultant based out of Bangkok.

In our conversation with Shai, we dive into various topics related to China's economy, the tech industry, and investment flows. We explore different sectors in China, such as biotech, clean tech, and semiconductors. We also talk about the rise of electric vehicles in China, the success of Chinese auto exports, and how that’s playing out on the ground in places like Bangkok.

We conclude our conversation by looking at the platform economy in Southeast Asia, including a breakdown of the e-commerce, food delivery, and digital payment ecosystem in Thailand.

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

● Economic changes in China

● The current state of China's tech industry

● Challenges in the IPO market

● The rise of Chinese electric vehicles

● Chinese investment in Thailand's EV industry and the international expansion of Chinese automakers

● Electric vehicle adoption's impact on electricity prices and household grids

● The dominance of Lazada and Shopee in Southeast Asia e-commerce

● Importance of payments infrastructure and role of banks

● Comparison of payment processes in China and the US

● Key players in the e-commerce and food delivery sectors in Thailand

● Lack of consolidation in the Thai market and the potential impact of subsidy wars