Finbarr Bermingham Email & Phone Number

Brussels, BE

Brussels

• Relocated to Brussels in 2021 to cover Europe-China relations at a crucial point in history
• Posting coincided with the first European sanctions on Chinese officials since the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, the collapse of the EU-China investment deal and, eventually, Russia's invasion of Ukraine
• Through a combination of breaking exclusive news stories and long, probing reads on the complex geopolitical situation, have been charting the fraying of ties between two of the world's… Show more
• Through a combination of breaking exclusive news stories and long, probing reads on the complex geopolitical situation, have been charting the fraying of ties between two of the world's three biggest economies
• Have delivered a series of scoops on China's political / trade spat with Lithuania, the EU's burgeoning ties with Taiwan, European firms' engagement with forced labour in Xinjiang, China's positions re Russia-Ukraine.
• Continue to contribute almost weekly to the rebranded China Geopolitics Podcast, as well as appearing frequently on international media to discuss the big stories of the day. Show less

Hong Kong SAR / Brussels

Hong Kong

• Was hired to help launch the Political Economy desk at Hong Kong's newspaper of record
• Worked with two senior editors to manage a great team of reporters in China and Hong Kong
• Became de facto trade correspondent, where I broke a series of exclusive stories about China's trade economy
• Scoops included the inside details of the US-China phase one trade deal, deep investigations into the murky world of Chinese factory audits and blue-chip international brands' connections to… Show more
• Scoops included the inside details of the US-China phase one trade deal, deep investigations into the murky world of Chinese factory audits and blue-chip international brands' connections to forced labour in Xinjiang.
• Winner of "Best Business News Writing" category at the Hong Kong News Awards 2020 for a long investigative story with colleague and long-time collaborator Cissy Zhou, headlined: "Inside China’s ‘Wild West’, where mask.

• Rejoined GTR as the Asia Editor based in Hong Kong, covering trade issues around the world's most economically dynamic continent
• The posting coincided with the US-China trade war, which I covered extensively, as well as the collapse of the TPP and subsequent rebranding as the CPTPP
• Travelled around the region to speak at events and was a regular guest on radio and TV discussing the intersection of Asian trade, geopolitics and development
• Wrote long stories about commodity fraud… Show more
• Wrote long stories about commodity fraud in China, the boom-bust Sino-Australian trade relationship, the complicated evolution of Western sanctions in Myanmar and the growing influence of Chinese economic might around.

London, United Kingdom

• Joined the business desk of a fast-growing news website, covering specifically trade issues
• Reported on UK trade policy, including as part of EU-US negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)
• Also wrote extensively about British businesses and individuals hit by the extra-territoriality of US sanctions on Iran, the societal impacts of the UK government's austerity policies, and complex investor-state.

London, United Kingdom

• Worked for a trade publication covering trade, exports, commodity finance sectors
• Wrote about murky commodity markets, complex regulation, and development finance
• First ignited an interest in trade and supply chains, which I then covered for the best part of a decade
• Learned the nuts and bolts of an arcane yet vital sector, from letters of credit to customs rules, from tariffs to sanctions

London, United Kingdom

London, United Kingdom

• Worked for one year for a startup media project targeted at students in the UK
• Wrote about economics, finance, legal issues and careers
• Travelled to events around the UK and interviewed notable figures from British industry

Edinburgh

• Contributed columns, features, news and reviews for years to Scotland's premier arts magazine.
• Was involved from shortly after launch for more than 10 years, but on more sporadic basis in latter years.
• Interviewed a host of acclaimed and renowned musicians, from John Lydon and Daniel Johnson, to Eels, The National, the War on Drugs and Death Cab for Cutie.
• Edited the competitions sector for a year, produced a monthly music quiz, judged battle of the band events, and even… Show more
• Edited the competitions sector for a year, produced a monthly music quiz, judged battle of the band events, and even turned a hand to advertising sales at one point. Show less

Nam-gu, Gwangju, Korea

• Reported for local English language media in South Korea's bread-basket province Jeollonam-do
• Contributed sports stories to Gwangju Blog, an online platform, on local and national sports, including interviews and match reports from the local football team, Gwangju Sangmu (subsequently Gwangju FC)
• Took a short weekly slot on GFN radio network discussing the latest global online trends, for example the use of social media during the Arab Spring
• Regularly wrote stories for the… Show more
• Regularly wrote stories for the monthly print title Gwangju News. Highlights included reporting on the discovery of prehistoric dinosaur bones (Koreanosaurus Boseongensis) in the neighbouring countryside. Show less

• Wrote and edited copy for local, national and international publications.
• Covered a huge spectrum of subject matter, including news, sport, business, music, culture, food, politics, travel.
• Published outlets include: the Times, the Asia Times, Irish News, Al Jazeera, Q Magazine, International Business Times, The Week, Restaurant Magazine, The Skinny, Drowned In Sound
• Regularly appear in broadcast media to discuss areas such as politics, economics, trade and Asian affairs… Show more
• Regularly appear in broadcast media to discuss areas such as politics, economics, trade and Asian affairs, including a weekly slot on Share Radio and TV appearances on Al Jazeera Show less

Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

• Provided holiday cover at my award-winning local newspaper in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh
• Contributed sports reports, business news and interviews with local luminaries

Bsc Hons, Communication, Advertising And Marketing

Nctj Pgdip, Magazine Journalism

Education record