Political Impact of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia

Event Details

As governments continue to roll out mass COVID-19 vaccination programs, navigating regulatory hurdles and supply bottlenecks, join us for a morning briefing on the evolving crisis. Vriens & Partners' Country Directors will provide an update on the latest developments and provide insights on navigating the economic and business impact of COVID-19 during this period of social and economic uncertainty.

For any enquires please contact the AmCham Programming and Events Team.

*CANCELLATION POLICY: No refunds will be provided for cancellations. Replacements will be accepted.

Speakers

Chirag Agarwal

Senior Associate at Vriens & Partners Pte Ltd

Elaine Collado

Country Director, Philippines of Vriens & Partners Pte Ltd

Jeremy Mullins

Country Director, Myanmar of Vriens & Partners Pte Ltd

Wayan Agus Purnomo

Associate, Indonesia at Vriens & Partners

Samuel Pursch

Director, Vietnam of Vriens & Partners Pte Ltd

Isra Sunthornvut

Country Director, Thailand of Vriens & Partners Pte Ltd

Hans Vriens

(Moderator) Managing Partner, Singapore at Vriens & Partners Pte Ltd

Nazhif Yusoff

Country Director, Malaysia of Vriens & Partners Pte Ltd

Chirag Agarwal is a Senior Associate with Vriens & Partners in Singapore.

He was previously a Singaporean diplomat and travelled to various countries in the Middle East, Central Asia and Southeast Asia reporting on political and economic developments in the regions.

Chirag has also worked as a management consultant at KPMG Australia where he advised government departments and agencies on public policy and regulatory issues and evaluated government initiatives. He has worked across several portfolios including economic development, education, and healthcare. For instance, he worked closely with LaunchVic, Victoria’s start-up agency, to develop a guide and toolkit that helps local governments promote start-up activities within their constituencies.

Chirag frequently writes on socio-political issues in Singapore and has published op-eds in various newspapers and magazines including the South China Morning Post, The Straits Times, TODAY, and The Diplomat.

Chirag has a Bachelor of Science (Biomedical Sciences) degree from the National University of Singapore and a Master of Public Policy and Management degree from the University of Melbourne.

Jeremy is Country Director of Vriens & Partners’ Yangon office. He leads and manages advisory services for Clients, providing insight on Myanmar political dynamics and developing government affairs strategies. He has worked in Myanmar for six years as a consultant, journalist and market researcher, including as business editor of The Myanmar Times newspaper and managing director of FMR Research. Previous focuses include the energy, real estate and finance sectors, and he has travelled through much of the country on assignment. This varied experienced in Myanmar has enabled Jeremy to build a strong understanding of local political and business dynamics, while developing a strong network of key contracts.

Wayan Agus Purnomo is an Associate at the Jakarta Office of Vriens & Partners. He joined Vriens & Partners in 2020 to provide support on stakeholder engagement, media strategy and policy and political analysis.

Prior to joining, he was the political editor of the widely respected Tempo Magazine, where he was a journalist since 2011. He covered the inner workings of parliament, political parties, elections and led several major investigations, including the corruption around the procurement of the electronic identity card or e-KTP. The e-KTP scandal eventually led to the trial and conviction of several high-profile politicians and parliamentarians. In 2015, Wayan received the Adinegoro Award for his feature in Tempo, “Politik pun Bisa Asyik” (Politics Can be Fun Too) which sought to engage young people in the political process.

He was a member of Independent Alliance Journalist between 2010-2019, and the secretary-general of the Federation of Independent Union Media Workers in 2016-2018. Wayan was a trainer and mentor on journalism and good governance through several institutions, including Tempo Institute and other civil society organizations.

He holds a master’s degree in Political Communication from the University of Glasgow, sponsored by the British Government (Chevening), and a bachelor’s degree in Law from the Udayana University in 2011.

Hans is the founder and Managing Partner of Vriens & Partners, the leading government affairs, public policy and political risk analysis firm around Southeast Asia. It is headquartered in Singapore and has more than 90 staff and 30 senior counselors around the region. The firm has offices in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, The Philippines, and Cambodia.

Hans has lived and worked in Asia since 1990. He is a regular commentator on regional issues.

Prior to establishing V&P, Hans was Vice Chairman, Asia at APCO Worldwide. He set up and served as Managing Director of the Indonesia practice for six years. Prior to this he worked as a political economist at the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy in Hong Kong. Earlier he practiced law in the M&A practice at Clifford Chance and was the Asia correspondent for a leading Dutch financial and economic daily. In 1995, he was elected president of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong, then the largest in the world.

Hans serves on the Board of Trustees of the Foundation of UWCSEA. He was a founding member of the Europe ASEAN Business Alliance, Chairman of the Foundation Dutch Education at UWCSEA, board member of Eurocham, and founding chairman of DutchCham in SG.

Hans graduated from law school in civil and public law at Groningen University in the Netherlands. During his studies, he was a research assistant in European parliamentary history and public law. In 1982 he took a year off from his studies when he was elected Senatus Rector of the Student Union (VAP).

Hans studied at the Bologna Center of the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University. He also did stints at the Universities of Grenoble in France, and Krakow in Poland.

His family lived in Batavia, Semarang and on Biak off Papua in the Dutch East Indies for several generations until the handover of Papua in 1962. He is married to Katy le Blanc. They have two sons.

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