The FINANCIAL — Credit Suisse on March 16 unveiled a line-up of authoritative speakers for the 12th Asian Investment Conference. Respected and influential figures from government, finance, the corporate world and academia will explore the issues testing the global economy and Asia Pacific during this challenging period.
Around 1,600 institutional investors and more than 200 of the leading companies in Asia Pacific are also expected to attend to discuss the long-term corporate investment themes and opportunities that are emerging for investors in Asia.
Keynote speakers confirmed to address the conference include The Honourable Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of the HKSAR; Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University; Jiang Jianqing, Chairman of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China; Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, former Minister of Finance of Italy and co-chair with Paul Volcker of the Group of 30 task force on global financial stability; and Ambassador David Mulford, Vice-Chairman International Credit Suisse and the former US Ambassador to India.
The 2009 AIC will run from March 24 to March 27 at the Island Shangri-La Hotel and the Conrad International Hotel in Hong Kong.
"Most investors have never faced a landscape as challenging as the global financial and economic crisis we have before us now," said Kai Nargolwala, Chief Executive Officer of Credit Suisse, Asia Pacific. "We believe that the AIC is more important than ever at a time like this. Our clients can gain invaluable insights from world-renowned experts, and we're promoting dialogue between corporates and investors when they need it most."
The speakers will address the macroeconomic trends that are sweeping the world, assess their impact on Asia and look at how the region's financial markets will be affected. Government responses to the slowdown in global growth, the consequences of falling consumption in the West and the future of financial services regulation will be among the central themes of the 2009 AIC. In connection with these themes, Credit Suisse is proud to introduce an exclusive screening of I.O.U.S.A. This award-winning documentary on the US government's debt was described by Reuters as being "to the US economy what An Inconvenient Truth was to the environment."
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former Chair of the US Council of Economic Advisors and former head of the US Congressional Budget Office – as well as a delegate to US President Barackn Obama's Fiscal Responsibility Summit – will join Professor Stiglitz for the opening keynote economics session. Professor Fan Gang, the Director of China's National Economic Research Institute and a member of the People's Bank of China's Monetary Policy Committee, and Dr. Omkar Goswami, Chairman of CERG Advisory Private Limited and a former Chief Economist at the Confederation of Indian Industry will discuss the two big engines of Asian growth, China and India, and ask how they will perform as developed economies suffer.
In addition, the AIC will also feature a range of its popular special panel sessions. These will include a panel on Financial Regulation involving Mr. Padoa-Schioppa; Eddy Fong, the Chairman of Hong Kong's Securities & Futures Commission; Dr. Chang-Yong Rhee, Vice Chairman of Korea's Financial Services Commission; and Karen Kemp, Executive Director, Banking Policy, at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
Dr. Rhee will also give a presentation as part of a special strategy session on Korea, which will also feature Young-Key Hwang, Chairman of KB Financial Group.
Other panels include the Asian Bank CEO panel, joined by Mike Smith, CEO, ANZ Bank, and Jaspal Bindra, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank and a panel on China Healthcare, featuring Frank Zhao, CFO of Simcere Pharmaceutical, Randy Hung, Executive Director of China Shineway Pharmaceutical and Roberta Lipson, CEO of Chindex.
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