The Future of Financial Markets (FOFM) 2011 Leadership Summit, the third annual flagship event, will be held from January 20-22, 2011, at The Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre, Powai, Mumbai. Themed ‘Empowering Lives. Transforming Economies.,’ the Summit is recognized as the ‘Davos of Global Financial Markets’, and designed to provide thought-leaders a platform to deliberate upon the rising significance and role of Greenfield exchanges in facilitating global trade and redesigning the architecture of the Future of Financial Markets.
The Summit has been structured to stimulate dialogue among financial market participants on two significant aspects of the financial markets. The Exchange Day on January 21 is centered on the rising opportunities in financial markets from Singapore to Dubai as well as from India to Mauritius and Bahrain. The Ecosystem Day on January 22 will remain focused on forward and backward links, such as warehousing and collateral management, technology, payment gateway, info-vending and spot market, which inter-connects markets with participants.
“FOFM 2011 is a unique gathering of relevant global leaders with a brain-storming platform for industry leaders to voice their opinions on the future of financial markets. It formulates a distinctive combination of insightful analysis and discussions between key decision makers that can change the face of the financial markets,” said Venkat Chary, Chairman, FOFM 2011 and Former Chairman, Forward Markets Commission. The Summit is expected to include participation from over 300 global financial market leaders, including over 75 eminent speakers from 10 countries, including US, UK, India, Singapore, Bahrain, Botswana and Mauritius.
Greenfield Financial Exchanges, aided and supported by the ecosystems, have the potential to facilitate global trade and change the face of global business by positively influencing the future of global financial markets, according to Jignesh Shah, Chairman & Group CEO, Financial Technologies Group. “Infrastructure is the key enabler for growth. Technology-centric financial exchanges are instrumental in changing the contours of ‘exchange trading’ in emerging, but fast-growing, economies from Asia to Africa and have the impending ability to transform economies and empower lives. Financial markets, especially regulated exchanges, are envisaged to play a critical role in developing fast-growing economies,” Shah added.
Dr. Amit Mitra, Secretary General, FICCI; Ashok Jha, Chairman, MCX-SX; Beat Nägeli, Member of Board of Directors, ABN Amro Switzerland; Couldip Basanta Lala, Founder & Technical Director, International Financial Services, Mauritius; G. N. Bajpai, Former Chairman, SEBI; Jan Remmelt Nagel, Chief Executive, ABN AMRO Clearing Bank N.V. (Singapore); Jignesh Shah, Group Chairman & CEO, Financial Technologies Group; M. V. Nair, CMD, Union Bank of India; Mohammed Nedal Alchaar, Secretary General, AAOIFI; Ron Somers, President, U.S.-India Business Council; Saurabh Srivastava, Chairman, IVCA; Seth R. Freeman, CEO & Chief Investment Officer, EM Capital Management, LLC; Tony Shale, CEO, Euromoney Asia; and Vineet Bhatnagar, Managing Director, MF Global; are other esteemed members on the Advisory Board of FOFM 2011. Besides lending their mindshare, providing valuable feedback and guiding the Summit at various levels as their primary responsibility, the Advisory Board will also be engaged in a year-long association in driving financial inclusion and enabling equitable growth in India.
Dr. Amit Mitra, Chairman, FICCI, said, “We have always admired the efforts taken by the Financial Technologies Group to realize the pulse of financial markets and coming up with diverse set of solutions. It’s great to see them take it a step further through FOFM, where think-tanks of the financial domain congregate in an endeavor to implement the global best practices in emerging economies of Asia, Africa and the Middle-East. I foresee FOFM as the platform that will set the tone for next-generation financial market reforms.”
U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) President Ron Somers, also on the Advisory Board of FOFM 2011, proposes that, “Further development of India’s capital market is critical as India continues to take its rightful place as a global economic leader. FOFM presents an excellent platform to brainstorm and chart a fresh course to accomplish the objective of deepening India’s capital markets, and I am excited to be a part of it.”
The various partners the Summit has associated itself with will scale it to a different level altogether. NDTV Profit, India’s leading business news channel, is the Television Partner; Business Standard, India’s leading business newspaper, is on board as the Print Partner, whereas Outlook Profit, the reputed business magazine from the media house Outlook Publishing (India), has joined with the Summit as the Magazine Partner.
FOFM 2011 endeavors to become the preferred avenue for global thought-leaders, especially from emerging economies, to contribute and influence the Future of Financial Markets. “Undeniably, efficient and orderly development of financial markets will play a lead role in charting India’s destiny as one of the most powerful economies in the world. We are excited to partner the FOFM Leadership Summit, where thought-leaders brainstorm the way ahead on this vital subject,” said Ms. N. Mahalaxmi, Editor, Outlook Profit. FOFM 2011 will enable financial market leaders from around the world to network, cooperate and exchange ideas on key challenges in the development of financial markets.
Trade and Industry Partners
The Summit is proud to be partnered with the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) as a Trade Partner, which is a premier business advocacy organization representing America's top companies investing in India, joined by global Indian companies, with an aim to deepen trade and strengthen commercial ties. USIBC recently hosted U.S. President Barack Obama in Mumbai and is working closely on the Indian financial markets as a part of its Financial Services Executive Committee.
As the Technology Partner, the Summit is privileged to have joined hands with Microsoft India, a key IT partner to the Indian government supporting and fueling the growth of local IT Industry. “Indian economy is poised for strong growth and a robust financial ecosystem is crucial for ensuring overall progress. The new economic opportunity requires for us to find quick road-maps in key areas like inclusive growth, microfinance, financial operational excellence, etc. With some of the best minds converging in India, FOFM 2011 presents a unique opportunity to debate and find these answers to speed up the progress,” said Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India.
Among key industry associations, Swiss Futures & Options Association (SFOA), the leading futures industry association, has joined as the Industry Partner, while IE Business School, ranking No. 6 worldwide in MBA programs, is the Summit’s University Partner. The Summit is also extremely proud to be associated with Grant Thornton, the 5th largest accounting, audit and consulting firm globally, as its Knowledge Partner; with AIESEC, the world’s largest student-driven organization, as the Talent Partner; and with Greater Geneva Berne area (GGBa Switzerland), the economic development agency from Europe, as the Trade Partner.
“It is high time for global corporations to go beyond purely focusing on creating shareholder value and ensuring measures to develop and sustain the growth of the sectors they operate in. Through FOFM, the Financial Technologies Group has taken an initiative to create a one of a kind platform addressing issues and creating opportunities of emerging economies and we are proud to be associated with them,” said Paul Andre Jacot, CEO & President, SFOA.
With a clear shift of power from developed to emerging countries and a new growth model that is more inclusive, the Summit is set to emerge as the hub to be credited for the genesis of many revolutionary innovations in the new world economic order.
“Financial markets, the way they are structured and the incentives they create, are the key to empower lives and transform economies in a positive way – an idea truly welcome by industry leaders as well as governments and policy-makers. FOFM 2011 will inspire companies to create favorable circumstances to accelerate growth and enhance their contribution to their country’s economic development,” said David Weild IV, Capital Markets Advisor, Grant Thornton, Knowledge Partner for the Summit.
Having engaged a stream of extremely valuable and recognized partners who are domain experts in their respective industries and congregating the best minds from the financial markets space of emerging economies, the Summit is confident of stimulating a dialogue and positively influencing the future of global financial markets and creating a new world economic order.