The World Economic Forum (WEF) began yesterday amid uncertainty after opening speaker Russian President Dmitry Medvedev postponed his visit following a deadly attack on a Moscow airport.
WEF organizers said the Russian president would arrive in time to address the 2,500 members of the global political, business and media elite attending the annual meeting in the snow-bound Alpine village of Davos.
However, it was not clear if he would stick to his plan to showcase Russia’s investment opportunities, drawn up before Monday’s bomb blast at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport that killed 35 people.
Posters urging investors to “Increase your opportunities with Russia” have been plastered across key locations in Davos, including in front of the chic Hotel Belvedere Steigenberger, where top politicians and executives stay.
IHS analyst Nariman Behravesh said the Russian president would “give a two-fold message. One: ‘We will not tolerate the terrorist attack,’ and two: to reassure foreign investors that Russia is still a safe place to invest.”
While accepting that the attack “casts a shadow” over the forum, Behravesh said “the impact on investor sentiment will be limited.”
“Unless there are subsequent attacks, investors will look beyond it,” he said.
“I don’t think that this will make a huge impact on the agenda,” he said.
The global shift in economic and political power toward emerging giants like China and India, as well as the eurozone’s debt battle, will remain key themes at this week’s Davos meeting, the analyst said.
“The world has fundamentally changed,” said Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, which organizes the annual meeting at the Alpine resort.
“One of the most important factors of the new reality is the shift of geopolitical and geoeconomic power from north to south, from west to east,” he said.
“This has not only political and economic consequences. I think the world will go through some shock waves of adaptation,” he added.
The south and east are taking up a bigger seat in this new world, as illustrated by the participation of emerging giants like India, whose “India Exclusive” campaign is competing for wall space with Russia.
Compared with a decade ago, Chinese representation is up five-fold and that from India is up four-fold, WEF chief business officer Robert Greenhill said, reflecting the power shift.
Several Indian ministers — including those for home affairs, finance and commerce and industry — will be at Davos, while Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming (陳德銘) is expected to give a rundown of the country’s decade as a member of the WTO.
With US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner also on the guest list, Washington’s concerns over its trade balance with China and the value of the yuan against the US dollar is expected to be a subject of discussion.
Beyond issues surrounding the emerging giants, the 2,500 participants at the forum are also expected to focus on the ongoing eurozone debt crisis.
Participants will be looking to Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou for a progress report on Athens’ fight to contain its debt since its near meltdown a year ago. Other European leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron will also be at hand to discuss issues in the region.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI