Asia After Five — Macrotrends in Asia - Christchurch

Join us for our first Christchurch event of the year! Raf Manji, the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono non-resident fellow for 2025, will discuss the big trends shaping Asia—and what they could mean for New Zealand and the wider region.

The event will follow our popular Asia After Five format, blending Asia-focused discussions with an evening of networking to deepen your understanding of the region.

Event Details: 
Time/date: Monday, 19 May 2025, 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Venue: JIX Reality 213 Tuam Street, Christchurch Central City, Christchurch 8011

This is an open event—bring a friend along!
Please RSVP for catering purposes.

Meet our Expert

About Raf Manji
Raf Manji has a background in governance, risk and strategy. Most recently, he led The Opportunities Party into the 2023 General Election. Prior to that, he served two terms as a Christchurch City Councillor, where he was Chair of the Finance Committee.

He also acted as an Independent Advisor to the Christchurch Foundation on the distribution of donated funds and support to the victims of the 15th March Terror Attack. He was a director of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd and a member of the Local Government working groups on Funding, Risk and Localism and the Central Government Working Group on Trade for All.

Raf spent 11 years trading global markets and providing high-level macro-economic advice for investment banks in London from 1989-2000. He left banking to work for an environmental start-up, Trucost, which became a pioneering company focused on measuring and accounting for the environmental costs of business.

In 2002, he moved to New Zealand and has since been actively involved in governance, strategy and social enterprise. He has worked with the Asia New Zealand Foundation, the Christchurch Foundation, the Volunteer Army Foundation, Refugee Resettlement Services, Christchurch Budget Services, Pillars and the Christchurch Arts Festival as both a volunteer and board member.

He has a degree in Economics and Social Studies from the University of Manchester and a Graduate Diploma in Political Science and a master's in international law and politics from the University of Canterbury.