Thu, Jan 27, 2011 page10

• WEF meeting opens amid uncertainty

  AGENDA: While the Moscow airport blast has cast a shadow over the meeting in Davos, it is likely to have a limited impact on investor sentiment, an analyst said

  • AFP, DAVOS, SWITZERLAND
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  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.
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