Mutuality in the Asia Pacific region

Co-operatives, mutuals and employee-owned businesses play an important role in the economies and societies of a number of Asia Pacific countries. They have a long history, and an evolving and interesting future. The case of China is perhaps particularly significant, as the co-operatives there are operating still within the context of state control, and it is not clear how they might develop in the future. Were China to decide that the co-operative and mutual corporate form had an important role to play alongside state, personal and shareholder-ownership models, then given the significant role of China in the global economy, this could have a major impact on the type of corporate diversity the world's economy enjoys in future years. These 'alternative' corporate forms include consumer co-operatives and producer co-operatives, as well as financial mutuals and employee ownership. There have been calls for this broadly defined mutual sector to become the most dynamic part of the global economy by the end of this decade. In the context of the Asia Pacific, this looks an attractive proposition in terms of promoting corporate diversity and delivering sustainable development and regional resilience.