Robin Harding is the Asia Editor of the Financial Times and is responsible for coverage from Australia to Afghanistan, as well as writing personally on the fast-growing region in the world economy.

Previously an editorial writer, a Fed-watcher in Washington DC during the years after the financial crisis and the FT’s bureau chief in Tokyo, Robin combines his own perspective as an economics columnist with a reporter’s access to the politicians and policymakers in charge. He can offer a thought-provoking – and well-informed – perspective on developments affecting the Asian and the world economy.

Robin has lengthy experience as a keynote speaker and a moderator. He has been a panellist or moderated events at the IMF, the World Bank, several regional Federal Reserve banks and the Institute for International Finance. He has chaired contentious press conferences, which required firm control, as well as lighter-hearted events. He always tries to bring clarity and serve the audience.

Drawing on his experiences covering monetary policy and his years in Japan – where he interviewed prime minister Shinzo Abe several times – Robin can speak about some of the biggest trends shaping the modern world: ageing demographics and declining interest rates, as well as the growth of China, and the geopolitical tensions that are reshaping Asia.

Born in Durham, in the north of England, Robin has degrees in economics from the University of Cambridge and Hitotsubashi University. Before becoming a journalist, he worked in banking, asset management and public policy research.

PhD; MD. Formerly, Adjunct Professor: Johns Hopkins University; Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania; Graduate School of Pacific Studies and International Relations, University of California, San Diego; taught courses on Asian sovereign risk analysis, international financial markets, international monetary policy and Southeast Asian political culture; consultant on Asian economic and political affairs, World Bank and Canadian and US governments; Research Associate, Institute for International Economics, Washington DC.

Marie Diron is global head of Moody’s Sovereign and Sub-Sovereign Risk Group, with responsibility for credit ratings on countries, regional and local governments, public sector entities and multilateral development banks. Marie is also Moody’s Investors Service lead coordinator on ESG monitoring and integration across asset classes. 

Marie has worked in various functions at Moody’s in the Sovereign Risk Group and (then) Credit Policy. In particular, she was lead sovereign analyst for a number of Asia Pacific credits including Australia, China, India and some frontier market sovereigns. She then managed the Asia Pacific sovereign team, before expanding her responsibilities to today’s global role. Previously, in Credit Policy, Marie co-ordinated Moody’s Global Macro Outlook and other credit research. 

Marie was previously Director at Oxford Economics, leading the company’s forecasting and scenario analysis service to financial sector and corporate clients, after a number of years at the European Central Bank and Brevan Howard LLP. Marie received a MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge and graduated from the Ecole Centrale Paris.

Gene Fang is an Associate Managing Director in the Sovereign and Sub-sovereign Ratings Group in Asia. Based in Singapore, he manages the team responsible for sovereign and sub-sovereign ratings in the Asia Pacific region, as well as analysts covering regional and local governments in China. In addition, Gene leads Moody’s Digital Economy strategy in the Asia Pacific region, including engagement with regulators and market participants on Moody’s initiatives in digital finance.

 Before joining Moody’s, Gene worked as an investment banker for J.P. Morgan and Citigroup, where we covered financial institutions in Asia. Gene graduated from Columbia University in political science. He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.