Economist Manu Bhaskaran will deliver the keynote address at this year’s Seafood Expo Asia in September.
The 2025 iteration of Seafood Expo Asia will take place from 10 to 12 September in Singapore at the Sands Expo and Convention Center. The 13th edition of the event, owned and operated by Diversified, will bring together seafood professionals and purchasing decision-makers from the catering, hotel, import, restaurant, supermarket, wholesale, and more sectors. [Editor’s note: Diversified owns and operates SeafoodSource.]
Diversified hosts a conference program alongside the expo which features top leaders in the seafood industry discussing topics ranging from technology updates and innovation to sustainability and supply chain accountability. As part of the program, Bhaskaran’s keynote, “Asia’s Prospects in an Uncertain World,” will explore uncertainties facing the global economic landscape and provide key insights into global trends and their implications on regional growth.
“Other key topics of the discussion will include the real impact of trade wars beyond tariffs, identifying resilient and adaptive economies in Asia and beyond, the shifting role of the U.S. dollar in global finance, and the opportunities and challenges that will arise given the current landscape,” Diversified said.
Bhaskaran is a partner at the Centennial Group, a strategic advisory firm based in Washington, D.C. He is also the founding CEO of Centennial Asia Advisors, a Singapore-based subsidiary of the group. In his role, Bhaskaran coordinates independent economic research on macroeconomic and political trends in Asia for a range of clients such as investment institutions, government agencies, and companies with interests in the region.
Alongside his role with Centennial Group, Bhaskaran has also served as an adjunct senior research fellow at the Singapore Institute of Policy Studies, with a focus on macroeconomic policy.
“Previously, he held senior roles at Société Générale’s Asian investment banking division, where he supervised Asian economic and investment strategy analysis and equity and economic research,” Diversified said.
Bhaskaran also served as a chairman for a high-level government committee covering the regulation of moneylenders in Singapore and is a current council member of both the Economic Society of Singapore and the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. He was educated at Magdalene College; Cambridge University, where he earned an MA degree; and at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he obtained a master’s degree in public administration.
