Philanthropy

India has around 2 percent of the world’s millionaires and 5 percent of its billionaires, and since 2000, wealth in the country has grown 9.2 percent a year, faster than the global average of 6 percent. At the same time, India ranks among the highest in terms of income inequality and is home to the world’s largest number of poor people. India’s lea… Read more

The Asia Foundation’s President David D. Arnold spoke at the World Philanthropy Forum held in Beijing on November 29 and 30. Arnold drew on the Foundation’s six decades of experience and exchanges in Asia’s philanthropic sector as he moderated a high-level dialogue on “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Philanthropy,” featuring leaders from F… Read more

The Asia Pacific is forecast to be the world’s fastest growing economic region over the next decade—a remarkable rise that has largely been attributed to the rapid growth of its private sector. Companies such as AirAsia, Tata Group, Samsung, LG Electronics, and Alibaba have been altering traditional ways of doing business, bringing new technologies… Read more

After more than a decade in legislative limbo, China’s first national Charity Law came into force on Sept. 1, 2016. It is considered a watershed moment in advancing a culture of philanthropy in China as the law provides a set of social and ethical standards— a constitution of sorts—for the country’s burgeoning charity sector. It also brings China i… Read more

Jack Ma and the Alibaba Foundation – the charitable arm of Alibaba Group – hosted a first-of-its-kind philanthropy conference in Hangzhou, China, this past week: the Xin Philanthropy Conference. Their goal? To establish credibility as major advocates for the deeper development of a culture of private philanthropy in China. Alibaba hosted the first-… Read more

In 2011, renowned investigative journalist Deng Fei went on a reporting trip to Guizhou province, a remote area in southwestern China, where he visited rural schools and spoke with students and teachers. He came away shocked that many schools did not provide lunch…

Giving in Vietnam is strongly rooted in its culture and tradition. Tax breaks for rich people who helped the poor were implemented as far back as the 15th century. Today, the public discourse is full of references to community spirit and the philanthropic impulses of Vietnamese. In addition to quoting the musketeers line, “One for all and all for one,” in his address…

Last November, when a new leadership team stepped forward in Beijing, they confronted a very different set of challenges than their predecessors had faced. Among the most urgent of these is the challenge of providing adequate basic social services for all of China’s 1.3 billion people…

When I first met Pandju Merali at his home in Seal Beach, California, in 2010, he told me a story about his life, which is recorded in his memoir, From Africa 2 America. Mr. Merali talked about what it was like growing up as a child of Indian descent in the Congo…

Last month, local headlines in Vietnam announced the government’s much-welcomed decision to earmark an additional $119 million (VND2.5 trillion) to assist with loans to low-income university students in the upcoming academic year. This is certainly good news, because despite Vietnam’s strong economic growth…

Dr. Scott Rozelle posed a difficult question during his presentation at Give2Asia’s 10th Anniversary Forum: What caused wages to rise in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea such that these once-booming manufacturing centers relinquished their first-place manufacturing titles in the 1970s and 1980s to China?

Tadashi Yamamoto, founder and president of the Japan Center for International Exchange, passed away on April 15 at the age of 76. He was an extraordinary person whose career was marked by extraordinary accomplishment. He was a liberal internationalist, an optimist who believed wholeheartedly…

In 1863, John D. Rockefeller sold his first kerosene to China and made his first gift to China missions. He was 24 years old. He could not have dreamed that both his future oil company and future foundation would one day dominate the American commercial and cultural presence in China.

The streets of Vietnam’s biggest cities reveal unmistakable signs of wealth. Mercedes and Lexus luxury cars are common, and now and then, you can catch a glimpse of a Bentley or a Maybach gliding along the congested thoroughfares. Vietnamese “new rich” can now access the latest fashion and accessories…

On Oct. 7, 2011, The Asia Foundation will host a delegation of leaders from China’s top philanthropic foundations and media outlets for a panel discussion with Asia Foundation and Give2Asia senior experts on China’s growing philanthropic environment and the role of the media in promoting transparency in the sector.