Boao Forum for Asia Financial Cooperation Conference opens in Dubai

The region’s most prestigious gathering attracts 350 government officials, finance leaders and academics todiscuss Asia’s integration into the global economy

Dubai, UAE – 23 November, 2014:More than 350 high-ranking government officials, global finance leaders, policy makers and academicshave gatheredin the UAE,including former Vice Premier of ChinaZengPeiyan,to attend the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Financial Cooperation Conference.

BFA is recognised as the most prestigious forum in the region and will provide a platform for two days of discussion aimed at driving forward the conversation on key financial issues confronting Asian countriesand laying the groundwork for closer collaboration in the future.

The BFA Financial Cooperation Conferencewill be opened by MrPeiyan, who is also Vice Chairman of the BFA, and is the inaugural Boao Forum for Asia event to be hosted in the Middle East.

“The BFA Financial Cooperation Conference will deepen the conversation on issues of critical financial importance to Asian countries,” said Zhou Wenzhong, Secretary-General for the BFA.“Our decision to stage the event in Dubai, strategically located at the crossroads between East and West, is recognition of its growing importance as a conduit for financing, trade and exchange between East and West Asia, as well as the role it can play in financing infrastructure and energy investments that will help further integrate Asia into the world economy.”

Shaukat Aziz, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, and Dominique de Villepin, former Prime Minister of France head up the international leaders in attendance, while senior figures from the UAE include: His Excellency Abdulla Al Saleh, Undersecretary of Trade and International Affairs, UAE Ministry of Economy;Abdullah Mohammad Al Awar, CEO, Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre; and V Shankar, Group Executive Director and CEO Europe, Middle East, Africa and Americas of Standard Chartered Bank.

Leading Chinese speakers include: Jin Liqun, Secretary-General, Multilateral Interim Secretariat for Establishing Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; Wang Heshan, Vice Governor, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region; and Ma Zehua, Chairman of the Board, China Ocean Shipping Group Company.

The Chinese finance sector is also well represented through: ZhengZhijie, President, China Development Bank; Li Jiange, Chairman, Shenyin&Wanguo Securities; Zhang Hongli, Vice President, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.