Top Global Biz CEOs in Seoul

G-20 Business Summit to take place in Seoul to discuss economic issues with G-20 Summit leaders

Heads of the world’s 100 largest and most influential businesses will gather in Seoul this year for talks with global leaders at the upcoming G-20 economic summit in November, South Korean organizers of the meeting said recently.
The G-20 Business Summit Organizing Committee finalized its plan to open the talks on Nov. 10, one day before the start of the two-day G-20 summit, the world’s premier forum for economic cooperation.
“CEOs from about 100 global corporations will attend the Seoul G-20 Business Summit to be held Nov. 10-11 to convey their joint view on sustainable and balanced growth to G-20 leaders,” the organizing committee said in a press release.
Also planned during the G-20 business and economic summit is an unprecedented meeting between the leaders of global businesses and the heads of the world’s 20 largest economies, it added.
The business group will consist of some 80 business leaders from G-20 member nations that include the United States, Japan, China, Russia and host South Korea, and about 20 leaders of businesses based in non-member nations to help represent the interest of non-member nations as well.
The group will include Josef Ackermann, CEO of Deutsche Bank; Stephen Green, group chairman of British bank HSBC Holdings Plc.; Paul Jacobs, chairman of the world’s largest fabless chip supplier Qualcomm Inc.; and S. Gopalakrishnan, CEO and a co-founder of India’s IT business solutions provider Infosys.
Prior to the summit, the participating business leaders will name deputies to take part in two preliminary meetings in September and October. There they will establish a joint report on 12 major issues, such as ways to promote global trade, investment and job creation.
The report will be formally adopted by the CEOs and then delivered to the G-20 leaders at the upcoming Seoul summit, according to the organizing committee.
The organizers thought that the top global business leaders summit might be needed as the G-20 Summit in Seoul will take up such matters as the formation of a global economic crisis management system when they meet in November and the role of the global business community will be expected to play a key role in this connection.
Therefore, the business leaders meeting has been named as “Seoul G-20 Business Summit,” as the G-20 Summit in Seoul will be a process for the participation of business leaders in the meeting of heads of state. They will gather at a roundtable and discuss global economic and business issues in what is to be an unprecedented channel for a joint government and private business leaders cooperation.
Some of the major business Ceos expected to attend the Seoul meeting would include on the financial side; Josef Ackermann, chairman of Deutsche Bank, Chairman Stephen Green of HSBC, Ceo Vikram Pandit of Citigroup and Chairman Stephen Schwarzman of Balckstone. From the energy and manufacturers side will include Chairman Lakshmi Mittal of Arcelor-Mittal Group, Chairman Peter Brabveck of Nestle, Chairman Paul Jacobs of Qualcomm, Chairman Franz Fehrenbach of Bosch, President Anne Lauvergeon of Areva and Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group, among others.
The business summit is expected to be a facility for a joint dialogue on business with top government leaders to get a private-sector cooperation in global economic management following the financial crisis.
The unique aspect of the business summit is that it will have prior consultations among Ceos to attend the meeting on the issues to be discussed to arrive at agreements on the issues at the conclusion of the meeting.
When they meet in Seoul, they will discuss the issues directly so they can reach meaningful agreements on issues they discussed, which will be presented at the G-20 Summit.
The G-20 Business Summit is an attempt to build a private channel to the G-20 Summit for its progress as a premier international channel for cooperation as it will expand its international credibility as an international cooperative facility made up jointly by the public and private sectors.
The organizers will try to have the G-20 Business Summit to be part of the G-20 Summit in the days to come as its Seoul initial meeting as the start.
The four major issues to be taken at the business summit will include the revitalization of foreign direct investment and international trade, boosting financial safety and strengthening support to the real economy, the promotion of green growth and raising social business responsibility for society. nw

Chairman Sakong Il of the G-20 Summit Organizing Committee and also chairman of the Korea International Trade Association recently announces the committee’s work to prepare for the G-20 Summit and also the G-20 Business Summit in Seoul.