Top minds gather in HK for Asia- Global Dialogue 2013

The second Asia- Global Dialogue opened here on Thursday with participation by 400 leaders from business, government, academia and civil society invited from around the world. They are engaged in two days of intensive discussions on trends transforming the global economy.

As the flagship forum of the Fung Global Institute, an economic think-tank based in Hong Kong, the Asia-Global Dialogue provides leaders with an independent platform in Asia for open, constructive dialogue on the world’s most pressing issues.

“We attempt to bring Asian perspectives — in the plural — to bear on global issues ever mindful that there is no single perspective in a region as diverse as Asia,” said the Institute’s founding chairman, Victor Fung, delivering the welcoming address. “Equally, Asia benefits greatly from having access to global perspectives, such as those represented by distinguished overseas speakers and participants at this dialogue.”

The dialogue again features an international line- up of speakers. Stuart Gulliver, group chief executive of HSBC Holdings plc and chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, and Michael Spence, academic council chairman of the Fung Global Institute, launched the opening dialogue. Stanley Fischer, former governor of the Bank of Israel, former vicechairman of Citigroup and former first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, then delivered the keynote address. The gala dinner featured a conversation with Marcus Wallenberg, chairman of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken.

This year’s event picks up on discussions at the first Asia-Global Dialogue, held in May last year, around the theme of Asia’s role in the new global economy. “We agreed then that Asia needs to rethink traditional approaches to growth, employment and sustainability, given the combined impact of re-balancing, changing demographics, urbanization and environmental stresses,” said Fung. “Now we are exploring the crucial question of what’s next for jobs, opportunities and growth.”

In addition to the plenary sessions, indepth multi-track panel discussions will take place on both days for speakers and attendees to share insights and opinions on the four main research areas of the Institute: Global Value Chains, Asia’s New Financial Architecture, Evolving Growth Models in China and India, and Asia’s Sustainable Development.

Fung Global Institute President Andrew Sheng commented, “It is an honor to have so many distinguished thinkers join us for this year’s dialogue. Their insights and views help to form strategies and policies for economies around the world, and they are equally invaluable here as we continue to explore Asia’s expanding influence in an increasingly complex global economy.”

Other notable speakers in the program include Isher Ahluwalia, chairperson of board of governors of Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations; He Yafei, deputy director, Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of China; Nobuyuki Idei, founder and chief executive officer of Quantum Leaps Corporation; Richard Koo, chief economist of Nomura Research Institute; Pascal Lamy, former director- general of World Trade Organization and honorary president of Notre Europe — Jacques Delors Institute; Lu Mai, secretary-general of China Development Research Foundation; Kathy Matsui, co- head of Economics, Commodities and Strategy Research in Asia, chief Japan equity strategist and co-head of Asia Investment Research of Goldman Sachs; Takeshi Niinami, chief executive officer of Lawson, Inc; Samuel Palmisano, founder of The Center for Global Enterprise and former chairman, president and chief executive officer of IBM; John Rice, vice- chairman of General Electric, Jean-Pascal Tricoire, president and chief executive officer of Schneider Electric; and Mark Tucker, group chief executive and president of AIA Group Limited.

Sponsors of the Asia-Global Dialogue 2013 include HSBC, Lombard Odier, FWD, Gerson Lehrman Group, Goldman Sachs, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Khazanah Nasional Berhad. The partners include SWIFT, Bloomberg Television, China Business News, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair.