5th Sharjah FDI Forum to host 54 speakers at 12 sessions

Business Bureau, Gulf Today

The Sharjah FDI Office (Invest in Sharjah), operating under the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) has announced the agenda of the 5th edition of the Sharjah FDI Forum, which will take place on November 11-12, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, with 1,500 participants and 54 speakers including senior government officials, top economists, finance and business leaders.

To be held under the theme ‘Future Trends in Foreign Direct Investment’ at Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre (JRCC) in Sharjah, the international forum will consist of 12 sessions eight panel discussions and four special sessions, as well as 5 workshops and a special roundtable by the Dubai Financial Market.

Bestselling author and former Chief Business Officer of Google X, Mo Gawdat, is scheduled to make his presence at the 5th edition of the forum, and will be presenting a special signing ceremony for his famous book “Solve for Happy”, which is open to visitors at the (Invest in Sharjah) stand during the first day of the forum.

The Sharjah FDI Forum will begin with a keynote speech by Engineer Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy, followed by a welcome address by Marwan Bin Jassim Al Sarkal, Executive Chairman of Shurooq. This will be followed by a keynote speech by Mo Gawdat.

Four panel discussions will be held on the first day of the forum. The first one, ‘Applying Industry 4.0 to FDI for Sustainable Development’, will feature Juma Mohammed Al Kait, Assistant Under-Secretary for Foreign Trade Affairs at the Ministry of Economy; Abdulla Nasser Lootah, Director General of The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority; Husain Rajab, Co-Chief Investment Officer, Bahrain Economic Development Board; Anita Yadav, Vice Chairman Of The Board, The Gulf Bond & Sukuk Association, & CEO of Century Financial; and Dr. Henry Loewendahl, Founder and CEO of WAVTEQ, as panellists. Moderated by William Reichert, Partner, Charles Russell Speechlys LLP, the panel will address Industry 4.0 and circular economy as enabling drivers for FDI and business competitiveness, and how changes in the business process, models and approach to product design can help drive regional competitiveness as well as sustainable development in the digital economy.

The second panel of the day, titled ‘Future of Sustainability (Environmental and Renewable Energy)’, will discuss how changes in the global climate and environmental challenges will impact local and regional economies, and examine emerging and future trends in building a sustainable environment and their impact on current policies and urban planning

The session moderated by Timothée Néron-Bancel, Regional Manager, Middle East & Africa at The Economist, will include panellists: Suzanne Eveleigh, Director – Property Management, Savills; Dr. Muawieh Radaideh, Chief Executive Officer, SEE NEXUS; Zaid Alqufaidi, Managing Director, ENOC Retail; and Mhairi Main Garcia, Partner, Dentons.

The third session on Day One, ‘The Future of Fintech (Banking & Finance) - investing in innovation and sustainability of digitalised currencies and capital allocation’, will examine how fintech and digitalised currencies are disrupting capital allocation to deliver economic growth and increase efficiency and maximise profits, and the role of digitalised currencies in shaping global capital allocation, payments and investments.

Speakers will include Daniel Lam, Regional Director of Middle East and Africa, Hong Kong Trade Development Council; Evans Munyuki, Chief Digital Officer at Emirates NBD; Alaeddin Elmajed, Payment Services Director & Fintech Leader at Hyper Pay; Padmini Gupta, Fintech CEO and Co-founder, Rise; and Mohamed Roushdy, CIO, Fintech and Digital Transformation Advisor & Head of Technology at Dubai Asset Management. The session will be moderated by Ali Bachrouch, Partner, Head of Corporate Structuring – Northern Emirates at Al Tamimi & Company.

The fourth and final panel discussion during Day One of the forum is titled ‘The Future of High-Quality Infrastructure Development’, by the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority. Speakers include: Masahiro Narikiyo, CEO & COO, Sumitomo Corporation Middle East Group; Susan Flanagan, President & CEO, GE Energy Financial Services; Bulent Mehmetli, Product Line Director, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems; and Mika Uchino, Director of Division 3, New Energy and Power Finance Department II, Infrastructure and Environment Finance Group, Japan Bank For International Cooperation.

Three special sessions are scheduled for day one of the forum, which include: “The Future of Artificial Intelligence” presented by Azeem Azhar, Leading Authority On AI & All Things Technology; “Innovation in Future Technologies” by Alaa El Shimy, Managing Director & Vice President, Enterprise Business, Huawei Technologies; “Setting the Cinema Landscape for Investors” by HE Dr. Khalid Omar Al Midfa, Chairman of the Sharjah Media City (Shams).