NEWS
Future Global 100 Initiative Sets Blueprint for World Leaders
350 business and government leaders across 7 cities gather to chart the future of the global economy, markets and business. Kuala Lumpur hosts as the fourth of seven cities.
10 October 2011

Kuala Lumpur | Kuala Lumpur was the fourth city to host the Future Global 100 (FG100) Initiative which was held on 5 October 2011. More than 50 leaders representing organisations from 17 markets including Malaysia, France, Italy, Argentina, Peru, Qatar, Zambia, New Zealand, Slovak Republic, Japan, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, USA, Germany and UK were present to discuss the future of the global economy, markets and business.

L-R DHL Global Forwarding Southeast Asia CEO Sam Ang,
Chairman of Platinum Circle Lionel Lee, Member of National Parliament of
Japan Kono Taro, President Director of PT. Ilthabi Rekatama Ilham
Akhbar Habibie

Platinum Circle, a business grouping of global and national corporations, each with annual revenues exceeding USD100 million, is gathering more than 350 global and national business leaders and government representatives from over 30 countries to meet across 7 major cities to address the future of the global economy, markets and business. Collectively, these corporations from more than 20 industries/sectors represent a combined annual revenue exceeding USD3 trillion. Singapore was the first to host the FG100 Initiative roundtable on 4 July this year, followed by Mumbai on 4 August 2011, Shanghai on 7 September, and now Kuala Lumpur.

Top business and government leaders will be setting the Future Global Agenda and creating the world’s first top-level executive reference of views on the future of the global economy, markets and business.

The FG100 Initiative is implemented in 3 phases:

• Phase 1 – Roundtables for agenda building and consensus and compilation of the FG100 White Paper

• Phase 2 - Formation of the FG100 Community and national and regional groupings on the Future Global Agenda. Leaders are invited to boards and committees to chart the direction of the FG100 Community.

• Phase 3 - Meeting of the FG100 Community and Annual Report of the FG100

Phase 1 of the FG100 Initiative includes a prestigious series of roundtables hosted by Platinum Circle and supported by DHL. The roundtables provide a high-powered platform for business leaders in each location to speak with their peers on their views of the global economy, markets, personal experiences and the challenges they face in developing markets and growing future global companies.

The growing number of organisations participating in this global Initiative include the World Trade Organisation, the World Bank Group, Asian Development Bank, United Nations World Food Programme, Bin Zayed Group, STMicroelectronics, Silah Gulf, Vestas, Coats, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, CCIC, Melewar Group, DHL, The Bank of East Asia, Singapore Technologies Engineering, PT. Ilthabi Rekatama, Talent2, SAP, Nuqul Group, Neusoft Corporation, Hyflux, Uniqlo, KESA Electricals Group, Development Bank of Singapore, Texas Instruments, Experian, Electrolux, ANZ, Karcher, Quintiles, Philips Electronics, Siemens Medical Instruments, Dimension Data, The Travel Corporation, Hertz, Mastercard, Linkedin, Essar Group, Dalmia Group, Zydus Cadila, Tata Motors, Jubilant Lifesciences, JSW Ispat Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, Vendanta Aluminium, Bombay Stock Exchange, Lanco Infratech, Broad Group, Lenovo, Huawei Technologies, China Chamber of International Commerce, Saudi Telecommunications Company, national parliament and governments from Slovak Republic, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Zambia, New Zealand, UK, Italy, Spain and Canada.

Some Co-Chairs of the FG100 Initiative include:

• Y.B. Dato' Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry, Government of Malaysia
• Ms Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza, Deputy Director General of World Trade Organisation (Switzerland)
• Mr Rajat Nag, Managing Director General of the Asian Development Bank (Philippines)
• Mr Zhang Yue, Chairman and CEO of Broad Group (China)
• Mr Levin Zhu, CEO of China International Capital Corporation (China)
• Francois Guibert, Executive Vice President & President Greater China & South Asia Region of STMicroelectronics (Switzerland)
• Professor Heizo Takenaka, Former Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications and Economic and Fiscal Policy (Japan)
• Sir David Li, Chairman and CEO of The Bank of East Asia

Mr Lionel Lee, Chairman of Platinum Circle, said: “The strong support for the FG100 Initiative from industry and government leaders around the world reflects the desire among them to play a role in the making of the Future Global Agenda. We want to increase the voice of Malaysia in the Initiative and Agenda by including more Malaysian corporations and the government. Some of these corporations involved in the FG100 Initiative are on track to become global giants by as early as 2014. Together, our usiness and government leaders can have a platform to address global issues, deliberate and define the route forward for the future”.

Valentine Rugwabiza, Deputy Director General of World Trade Organization said: “…The Future Global 100 Initiative provides a highly relevant platform for dialogue, critical assessment and innovative thinking which can have a real impact…(It) provides an opportunity to bring all of these actors together-governments, the international private sector, international organisations, think tanks, academics- to focus on how we can collectively support global recovery by resisting protectionist pressures and adjusting the trade regulatory framework to the new realities of trade. I am pleased that the WTO has been added to the very impressive roster of international actors.”

One of the Co-chairs of the FG100 Initiative representing Japan, Mr Kono Taro, Member of National Parliament of Japan said: “With the Future Global 100 Initiative, Platinum Circle has provided us with a valuable opportunity for governments and the leading businesses in Asia to consult one another regarding one of the leading issues of our time, global growth….Within this, global companies play a lead role in investing in the global economy. Their ability to adapt to global financial conditions to sustain growth is a central element of the future of the global economy. A joint forum between such companies and governments that looks at how markets and businesses can sustain growth, as Platinum Circle has provided for with the Future Global 100 Initiative, is of utmost relevance to today’s world.”

The Kuala Lumpur session was held at Hilton Kuala Lumpur Hotel on 5 October 2011 co-chaired by:

• Y.B. Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade & Industry, Government of Malaysia (Malaysia)
• Tunku Dato’ Ya’acob bin Tunku Tan Sri Abdullah, Chairman, MAA Holdings (Malaysia)
• Mr Kono Taro, Member of the House of Representatives (Japan)
• Mr Sam Ang, CEO, South East Asia, DHL Global Forwarding (Germany)
• Mr Andrew Banks, Managing Director, Talent2 (Australia)
• Mr Howie Lau, VP Marketing/ Communications, Lenovo (S) Pte Ltd (China)

Some of the other highly recognised and respected leaders who gathered in Kuala Lumpur are:-

Mr Azran Osman Rani, CEO, AirAsia X Sdn Bhd;
Her Excellency Maria Isabel Rendon, Embassy of the Argentine Republic;
Dr Ilham Akbar Habibie, President Director, PT. Ilthabi Rekatama;
Mr Shahzad Nasim, Global CEO, Meinhardt Group International Holdings;
Mr Anderson Chibwa, High Commissioner, Zambia High Commission;  
Mr Anthony Ang, CEO, ARA Asset Management;
Datuk Mohamed Azahari Mohamed Kamil, Chief Executive Director, Asian Finance Bank Berhad;
Mr Carlos Vasquez, Minister & Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Peru;
Mr Andrew Tan, MD, SAS Institute Sdn Bhd;
Ms Fiona Acheson, New Zealand Trade Commissioner;
Mr Ganeswaran Subramaniam, Snr VP, Chartis Malaysia Insurance Berhad;
Mr Ismail Ibrahim, Chief Executive, Iskandar Regional Development Authority;
Mr Mahaganapathy Guruswamy, Director APAC Commercial, GE Healthcare;
Mr Matt Liddy, Vice President, Business Development Asia, Rio Tinto Alcan;
Mr Prakash Chandran, President & CEO of Siemens Malaysia;
Mr Claude Seigne, Regional Chief Underwriting Chief, AXA Asia Regional Centre Pte Ltd;
Mr Daniel Welk, GM, Hilton KL;
Datuk Jalilah Baba, Former Director-General, MIDA;
Mr Rashid Mairza Al-Mulla, Head of Mission, Embassy of the State of Qatar;
Mr Rosmin Mohamed, Snr VP, NCIR;
Mr Saif Malik, MD Wholesale Banking, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad;
Mr Zainal Amanshah, CEO, InvestKL,
Fad’l Mohamed, Director, Scomi Engineering Berhad and many others.

A White Paper comprising all input gathered in each roundtable will subsequently be published and distributed to every leader involved, to help future global enterprises chart the most promising course forward and to preserve the leaders’ insights for posterity.

After Kuala Lumpur, the next FG100 roundtable will be held in Hong Kong (3 November 2011), Jakarta (23 Feb 2012) and Sydney (28 Mar 2012). About 50 specially invited leaders in diverse roles, industries and markets will be attending the FG100 roundtable at each location.

Visit www.futureglobal100.com for more details.

The Platinum Circle is a leading global business group involving corporations with annual revenues exceeding USD100 million, governments and inter-governmental organisations in Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Latin America, America and Europe (www.platcircle.com). Supported and participated solely by business and government leaders, it is one of the most influential international business groups with close to 1,000 corporations whose combined annual revenues exceed USD1 trillion.

Together with their Partners and Board, Platinum Circle is building the world’s most connected business group of more than 5,000 organisations from six continents.

Our Initiatives provide a collaborative platform for our community to address business issues, overcome challenges, engage opportunities, make investments, effect constructive change and build markets at global, regional and national levels. Our Forums specifically address business agendas and draw top-executive attention to critical issues and market opportunities that are transformed into actionable blueprints. Our Projects build on these blueprints and spell out collaborative frameworks for our community to engage the identified issue or opportunity.

Source : Platinum Circle