A veteran international correspondent and editor and one of Asia's most experienced commentators

Simon Long is currently the International Editor and formerly the Finance & Economics Editor at The Economist, based in London. A veteran international correspondent, he was based in Singapore for many years as The Economist's Banyan Columnist, covering Asia. Prior to that he was the Asia Editor and the India Bureau Chief. He remains a leading journalist and commentator on the Asia region. Banyan touches on many of the critical issues shaping Asia's future, including economic and political integration, climate change and competition for resources. He has been the author of various Economist surveys on Asia, India, China-India, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Online Finance.

Prior to his time stationed in India, he spent two years working on economist.com, The Economist's internet edition. He had returned to London in 1998 to become Finance and Economics editor having been Southeast Asia correspondent based in Bangkok. Before joining The Economist, he spent nine years with the BBC in London, Beijing and Hong Kong.

At The Economist, he was also a writer for Global Agenda, economist.com's daily online news section and authored two book-length studies for the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU): Taiwan, Politics versus Prosperity, and China to 2000: Reform's last chance. His book "Taiwan: China's Last Frontier" was published by Macmillan in 1991. He is regularly interviewed on television and radio and quoted in international print media. Within the Economist Group, he participates as a moderator of business panels, including the Economist Conferences' India Government Roundtable.

Simon was educated at University College School, London and Trinity College, Cambridge and has a first class honours degree in Oriental Studies. He also attended the Beijing Languages Institute, Nanjing University, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Boston. He speaks English, French, German, Mandarin.