That has now come to an end. The unipolar world that came after the fall of the Soviet Union has given way to a multipolar world, adds the head of the Singapore-headquartered investment firm. “It’s not just the US and China. Now, we’ll begin to see the emergence of other powers; it’s almost like a game of thrones.”
The world will likely be more expensive in the next decade, as geopolitical tensions mark an end to a period of disinflation that lasted between 1990 and 2020, says Dilhan Pillay, chief executive officer of Temasek Holdings.
China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in December 2001 precipitated an era of globalisation, which resulted in China becoming the manufacturing hub of the world, says Pillay. “Most importantly, it reduced the unit cost of production, which is disinflationary for all of us. Therefore, we were able to go through a period of relatively benign inflation, and therefore, benign interest rates.”
