Moguls worth RM354b in town for Forbes meet
Forbes speaks during the opening gala of the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Singapore September 8, 2008. Reuters pic
The minister for international trade and industry said that this figure is higher than the US$90 billion collective wealth of delegates who attended last years Forbes summit in Sydney, Australia if Carlos Slim, currently the worlds richest man was excluded.
Mustapa said that the conference was a golden opportunity to showcase Malaysia to some of the worlds wealthiest people and hopefully attract their investment dollars, adding that the government found the experience of hosting the same conference in 2009 very useful.
He said that following the participation of the chairman of Indias biotech company, Biocon, in the 2009 Forbes Global CEO conference, the firm subsequently invested US$161 million in a bio-manufacturing and R&D facility in the Iskandar development region.
But it is also about networking, tourism, shopping and buying Malaysian property, he said. These are some of the richest people in the world, not ordinary individuals.
Mustapa added that the global conference is also an opportunity to correct misconceptions about Malaysia, in an apparent reference to the wave of negative publicity in foreign news media over the governments handling of the Bersih rally in July where chaos broke out after tear gas and water cannons were fired at thousands of civilians marching for free and fair elections.
We are peaceful, live harmoniously and are united, he said. We want to reiterate that Malaysia is business friendly and we are pro-business. Nothing like seeing for themselves the Malaysia success story.
The the! me of th e Forbes conference this year is At the Crossroads with a focus on how public and private sector leaders are making decisions that will shape the outcome of current global economic instability.
Fifty-five speakers have been confirmed for the event. These include:
Kumar Birla who has an estimated net worth of US$9.2 billion. Birla is chairman of Indias Aditya Birla Group, a commodities conglomerate.
Chinas third richest man, Zong Qinghou. Qinghou started Chinas largest beverage maker Hangzhou Wahaha Group and has a private net worth of US$5.9 billion.
Indonesias Chairul Tanjung who has diversified interests in banking, retail, TV and theme parks. Chairul has a net worth of US$1.1 billion.
Herbert V Kohler Jr, chairman of Kohler Co, a households fixtures company that is also one of the largest privately held companies in US. Kohler has a net worth of US$2 billion.
Singapores Popiah King Sam Goi who is worth an estimated US$1.2 billion.
Local speakers include AirAsias Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, CIMBs Datuk Seri Nazir Razak and YTLs Tan Sri Francis Yeoh.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will also participate in dialogue sessions with the chief editor of Forbes magazine, Steve Forbes to discuss global issues and highlight Malaysias business prospects.
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