The WORLD FORUM for Foreign Direct Investment 2015 February 8 – 10, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates CONFERENCE THEME Where East Meets West MONDAY 9 FEBRUARY CONFERENCE DAY ONE Jawaher Convention Centre SUNDAY 8 FEBRUARY Sharjah Tour & Site Visits with lunch The Chamber of Commerce which houses the “Made in Sharjah” exhibition of 120 companies University City Training, education and skills. Sharjah Free Trade Zone SAIF-Zone is built adjacent to the Sharjah International Airport – a hub that offers excellent sea, land and air transport links with access to over two billion consumers across the GCC, the CIS, Asian subcontinent, parts of Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe, and accessible to seaports on the Indian Ocean. The Heart of Sharjah project is actually the epicentre and origin of Sharjah. It was here where the first families took up residence in their new stone-built homes and is now a historical area located in modern-day Sharjah. Desert Safari Inaugural Dinner & Forum Launch Trained safari guides driving 4x4 vehicles lead the thrilling journey - over the sand dunes, and through the Desert Conservation Reserve - deep into the heart of the desert. A feast under the stars includes a Middle Eastern selection of grilled meats, fresh salads, delectable sweets, and hand-picked beverages at a traditional Bedouin-style camp with local entertainment and activities including falconry, camel riding, fat bikes, henna crafting and much more! 8.15am VVIP Majlis with His Highness Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi By invitation only 9am Opening Address His Highness Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah Confirmed 9.15am Welcome Address His Excellency Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy of United Arab Emirates Confirmed 9.30am-10.10am Opening Q & A with Celebrity Speaker Moderator Frank Gardener, BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner is the BBC’s award-winning Correspondent, reporting for TV and radio. He was awarded the OBE by HM The Queen in 2005 for services to journalism, awarded Honorary Doctorates by six Universities, the McWhirter Award for Bravery, Spain’s El Mundo Prize for International Journalism, the UAE’s Zayed Medal for Journalism, voted Person of the Year by the UK Press Gazette and 2011 Journalist of the Year in the European Diversity Awards. Tentatively confirmed Panel I East Meeting West: Geopolitics and Foreign Direct Investment The role of diplomacy in cross-border commercial transactions, especially in areas of social or religious unrest, diminished transparency or security risk. How do easterners and westerners communicate? What is the role of international trade agreements? www.worldforumforfdi.com ~ www.redhotlocations.com ~ www.fdia.com ~ www.conway.com The WORLD FORUM for Foreign Direct Investment 2015 February 8 – 10, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Examples of successful partnerships between companies from the differing business cultures of East and West, exploring how they got it right and any mistakes they have made along the way. How easy is it for a foreign investor to remain faithful to its in-house creed of corporate governance or social responsibility when entering a new territory? How can these differences cause conflict in the multinational workplace and how can they be overcome? Mr. Josef Unger, CEO, Unger Steel Invited Mr. Simon Moon, Chief Executive Officer, Middle East, WS Atkins Invited Mr. Jose Antonio Lopez-Monis, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Habtoor Leighton Group Invited Panellists Mr. Badar Jafar, Chief Executive Officer, Crescent Enterprises Invited Ms. Penny Low, Member of Parliament, Government Parliamentary Committee, Singapore Parliament Invited Mr. Jonathan Lu, Chief Executive Officer, Alibaba Group Invited 2.30pm Panel III Leapfrogging Frontiers: Cross-border Financing Options for FDI Panel II Global Infrastructure: Enhancing FDI No matter how paperless the office becomes goods, commodities and people still move from one place to another. Airports and maritime ports are vital for the transport of passengers and freight and Sharjah is perfectly positioned to offer logistics support to East-West traffic. Ports combine many of the factors that are key to site selection decisions the world over: they are transport hubs, often with preferential or non-existent tax implications, offering direct access to markets. Should ports remain a sovereign possession of the country they find themselves in or should they be privatised and if so, is a foreign owner as good as a national one? Which are the best ports in the world from a foreign investor’s viewpoint? What businesses are ideally suited to a dockside location? Guest Speaker Mr Mishal Kanoo, Invited Panellists Mr. Hussein Hachem, Group Chief Executive Officer, Aramex Confirmed Mr. Halil Kulluk, President & CEO, Intekno Group of Companies Confirmed Mr. Peter Gerber, Chairman, Luftansa Cargo Invited 1pm Lunch and Networking FDI Association Board Meeting With stress-tested banks exercising increased caution in their lending, we look at alternative sources of finance for overseas projects – from multilateral agencies and development banks through public-private partnerships to sovereign wealth funds, venture capital and business angels with a special nod to Islamic finance. Panellists Mr Mohsin Ali Nathani, Chief Executive Officer UAE Standard Chartered Bank Confirmed Mr. Muzaffar Hisham, Group Head, Islamic Banking / Chief Executive Officer, Maybank Islamic Berhad Invited Mr. Julio de Quesada, Head of Corporate and Investment Banking Group, Mashreqbank PSC Invited Keynote Changing the Fundamentals of Business Across Sectors and Across Continents Guest Speaker Mr. Mohammad Gawdat, Vice President Business Innovation, Google X Invited Panel IV Navigating Bureaucracy: Breaking the FDI Barriers Permits and licences are a drama for multinational corporations around the globe. From work and residence permits to licences for earth moving, building and staffing, not to mention the ubiquitous www.worldforumforfdi.com ~ www.redhotlocations.com ~ www.fdia.com ~ www.conway.com The WORLD FORUM for Foreign Direct Investment 2015 February 8 – 10, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates environmental impact analysis, these bureaucratic hurdles can cost a company many thousands of dollars as well as months of delayed productivity. Which locations provide a smooth and speedy journey through the paperwork and which trip investors up with red tape? How do companies overcome these obstacles or do they sometimes decide it’s not worth the effort and expense? The relocation and expatriation of staff can cause headaches for expanding companies. The immigration impasse was the clear winner as hottest topic of the WORLD FORUM of 2014. What methods have companies developed for circumventing work and residence permit difficulties? Panellists: Mr. Christopher Sanders, Executive Vice President & Head of Corporate Planning, Leopold KOSTAL Confirmed Mr. Yves Manghardt, Chairman & CEO, Nestle Middle East Invited Mr. Shigeaki Yoshikawa, Executive Vice President & Regional CEO Middle East & Central Asia, Mitsubishi Corporation Invited Mr. Khadem Al Qubaisi, CEO, Arabtec Invited 5.30pm Transportation from Centre to Evening Association Awards Jawaher Convention Reception and FDI Al Majaz Waterfront A premier and glamorous outdoor destination overlooking the Khalid Lagoon and with breathtaking views of the waterfront and the magical Sharjah Fountain display. 7.30pm Dinner Al Majaz Waterfront TUESDAY 10 FEBRUARY CONFERENCE DAY TWO Jawaher Convention Centre 9am Welcome H.E. Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Shurooq 9.15am Opening Speech Foreign Direct Investment, Immigration and the Fight for Talent Guest Speaker The Rt Hon. the Lord Mandelson Confirmed Lord Mandelson served in a number of British cabinet positions before taking up the appointment of European Commissioner, and later made a Life Peer in the House of Lords. Today he is President of Policy Network, an international policy Think Tank. 10.15am Refreshment break 10.30am Panel V Developing Top Talent Is it all about education and graduates? What about the worldwide lack of engineers? Also, how do we recruit and retain talent skills in the technology area? How do we prepare for the next generation of digital natives/born on the web generation? Can you tap into more talent from society in general? Is ageism undergoing a reversal in some sectors? Is the glass ceiling for women in the US as luminous and impenetrable as ever, despite some high profile female CEOs in a handful of Fortune 500 companies? What about companies? Do the companies on the panel have specific quotas that must be met in their headquarters country? Gender mixes, ethnic mixes and age mixes Are skills shortages more pronounced in the West than the East? Multinational companies are recruiting and training multilingual, multicultural employees and countries can benefit from their ideas and experience if they www.worldforumforfdi.com ~ www.redhotlocations.com ~ www.fdia.com ~ www.conway.com The WORLD FORUM for Foreign Direct Investment 2015 February 8 – 10, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates help these skilled workers to move freely around the globe. The introduction of fast track immigration procedures for this cadre of personnel is essential if companies and their operating locations are to retain their competitive advantage. Chair and Moderator Ms. Cathy Rodgers, Vice President Global Engagement Office, IBM Confirmed Panellists Mr. Sanjeev Chadna, CEO Asia Middle East & Africa (AMEA), PepsiCo Invited Ms. Zeinab Karake-Shalhoub, Professor RH Smith School of Business, University of Maryland Confirmed Mr. Craig Hagen, Senior Director Global Government Affairs, Electronic Arts Tentatively Confirmed Ms. Kathleen Matthews, Executive Vice President, Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer, Marriott International Invited Mr. Duncan Mitchell, Senior Vice President Middle East, Africa, Russia & CIS, Cisco Systems Invited Ms. Hanan Harhara, Senior Vice President, Human Capital, Mubadala Invited 1.15pm Transportation to Closing Networking Lunch and Cultural Afternoon Islamic Civilisation Centre Finish off the conference with a local taste, including tours of the exhibitions. Situated right at the historical heart of Sharjah on the Majarrah Waterfront, this fascinating Museum started its life as a traditional Middle Eastern souq or indoor market. The building, now transformed into a state-of-the art cultural venue, the new Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization, houses more than five thousand exquisite Islamic artefacts from all over the Islamic World, arranged according to themes over seven spacious galleries and display areas. 3.30pm – 5pm FDI Association meeting CONFERENCE CLOSE www.worldforumforfdi.com ~ www.redhotlocations.com ~ www.fdia.com ~ www.conway.com
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