About our Founder
Merle Hinrich presents a gift to China's former Vice Premier Madame Wu Yi at the Pacific Basin Economic Council AGM (2005) in Hong Kong
Mr. Merle A. Hinrich, Chairman of the Hinrich Foundation, has devoted more than six decades of his life to advancing mutually beneficial and sustainable global trade.
As the founder, former chief executive and executive chairman of Global Sources, he led a media business that drove export trade across East Asia’s economies, creating opportunities for communities in Japan, then across the four Asian Tiger economies of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea, and later, China, India and Vietnam.
Mr. Hinrich founded his publishing company Trade Media Limited in Hong Kong, in November 1970, launching its flagship monthly magazine, Asian Sources, in February 1971. Its statement of purpose read:
Merle A. Hinrich with magazines published by the Asian Sources Media Group in the 1980’s
That mission still motivates his work today.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, his flagship Asian Sources title evolved into sector-specific specialist publications, newsletters and books for decision-makers across multiple industries. These covered diverse product categories from electronics and industrial goods to fashion, gifts and toys, and connected buyers and sellers through its B2B magazines, digital platforms and sourcing fairs.
In the 1990s, Mr. Hinrich and his team turned their attention to helping clients reach ever more global buyers through the Internet, shaping their presence online. Then, in 2000, the company was listed as Global Sources Online Limited (GSOL) on NASDAQ.
Mr. Hinrich witnessed firsthand how trade could supercharge socio-economic progress, alleviate poverty, spur innovation, and bring peace. Read excerpts of his authorized biography.
Merle A. Hinrich with magazines published by the Asian Sources Media Group in the 1980’s
Accelerating trade through e-commerce
2003 October, Shanghai Global Sources China Sourcing Fair (Fall) interior
As technology advanced, his group steered clients online, setting up their email accounts, constructing their websites, then unifying them on a single platform, accelerating trade between thousands of verified Asian exporters and global importers. In 1999, The Economist dubbed him “Asia’s e-commerce King”.
In 2003, the group launched Global Sources’ China Sourcing Fairs, and by 2005, the trade shows dominated Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld Expo twice a year, welcoming the world’s biggest buyers to meet exhibiting manufacturers from China and East Asia.
After Mr. Hinrich sold his interest in Global Sources in 2017, he channeled his experience into the Hinrich Foundation, which continues the mission to enable better trade around the world.
Our work
The work of the Hinrich Foundation harnesses Mr. Hinrich’s efforts under one organization, affirming his belief that when knowledge steers the helm, prosperity finds safe harbor.
Established in 2012, the Hinrich Foundation has a philanthropic mission to advance mutually beneficial and sustainable global trade – by which we mean global trade that is resilient, inclusive and strategically sound. It is rooted in our steadfast belief that peace and prosperity flourish when trade works for all.
From our base in Singapore, the Foundation delivers timely, actionable insights into trade policy, trends and geopolitics to support trade practitioners, policy makers and academics. It engages with partners to shape better trade practices, conducts research and publishes the Hinrich-IMD Sustainable Trade Index (STI). In 2024, it added hfAI to its raft of resources, to offer readers immediate, verified information about global trade.
The Hinrich Foundation was established in 2012 as an independent, privately endowed philanthropic institution with a singular purpose: to strengthen understanding of sustainable global trade and to prepare the next generation of global trade leaders.
The Foundation extends Mr. Hinrich’s trade sector expertise for a nonprofit purpose, rooted in a steadfast belief that trade is at its best when every side has a stake in the other’s success.
From our base in Singapore, we act on that belief primarily through two commitments:
Merle A. Hinrich speaks with members of the Hinrich Foundation Alumni Association, May 2025
Our education program focuses on investing in the next generation of trade leaders by providing scholarships that put promising leaders through advanced study and resources that help a far wider circle of candidates choose the right trade-focused degree with confidence.
Today, we are proud that the Hinrich Foundation Alumni Association has more than 300 graduates located in 50 cities who are active in global trade across the private sector, government, civil society and academia, including entrepreneurs in their own trade enterprises in manufacturing, services and e-commerce.
Merle A. Hinrich speaks with members of the Hinrich Foundation Alumni Association, May 2025
Thought leadership on trade issues
Our research program delivers timely, actionable insights on trade policy, trends and geopolitics to support trade practitioners, policy makers and academics.
From its inception, the Foundation has been designed not as an advocacy body or an institutional voice, but as a neutral platform that enables rigorous research and high-quality education while preserving intellectual independence.
We work with partners to shape better trade practices, conduct research and publish the annual Hinrich-IMD Sustainable Trade Index (STI). Since 2024, hfAI has offered readers immediate, reliable information about global trade.
Raising leaders for global trade
Our education program focuses on investing in the next generation of trade leaders by providing scholarships that put promising leaders through advanced study and resources that help a far wider circle of candidates choose the right trade-focused degree with confidence.
Today, we are proud that the Hinrich Foundation Alumni Association has more than 300 graduates located in 50 cities who are active in global trade across the private sector, government, civil society and academia, including entrepreneurs in their own trade enterprises in manufacturing, services and e-commerce.
