Like the 2005 conference in Copenhagen, this year Sibos will attract almost 6,000 delegates from around the world, and given the location in AustraliaÆs largest city, will present many themes relevant to the Asia-Pacific audience.
Carrying on from Sibos 2004 in Atlanta when the topic was ôtime for growthö and the 2005 conference theme of ôtransformationö, SWIFTÆs annual gathering this year will focus on the subject of ôraising ambitionsö, a timely subject given the approaching implementation and the recent approval of the SWIFT2010 principles. Delegates should expect to hear plenty of the four strategic principals of SWIFT2010 û which include corporate reach, European integration, BRIC+, and alternative investments û and the role that automation and risk management will play in this unfolding initiative.
The topic of raising ambitions will be supported by the opinions of global thought leaders, with conference delegates privy to speeches from acknowledged financial figures such as David Morgan, chief executive officer of Westpac Banking Corporation, and S Ramadorai, chief executive officer and managing director of TATA Consultancy Services. Both men will share their views on the role SWIFT will play in regional growth in the opening and closing plenaries, respectively.
Another highlight will be TuesdayÆs dedicated regional plenary titled Raising Ambitions in Asia-Pacific where Vincent Cheng, chairman of HSBC and John McFarlane, CEO of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) will be among a star-studded panel addressing what the Asia-Pacific financial landscape will look like in five years and the barriers the region must cross to raise ambitions.
For delegates that are attending the conference, it will also be a great chance to walk around the exhibition that accompanies the sessions. At the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, located in picturesque Darling Harbour, all the major global banks will have stands. In addition, over 200 application and middleware vendors, integrators, consultants and central clearing systems will be on hand to explain their latest innovations and chat with clients for numerous parts of the finance industry. Delegates who have attended previous Sibos conferences have been routinely impressed by the quality of free gifts and prizes on offer at the various booths, and this year again will be no exception, with attendees grabbing all they can.
As in previous years, the FinanceAsia.com staff will on the ground at Sibos and will bring you a daily mix of news stories from the event as well as feature pieces on themes that are coming out of the conference. Aside from daily coverage of industry sessions and plenaries, we will again explore the lighter side of Sibos, reviewing the best parties, scavenging the booths for the most original freebies and previewing the 2007 conference in Boston.
We are also pleased to be carrying the words of our sponsors, The Bank of New York, JPMorgan, Standard Chartered Bank, and Citigroup who will provide our readers with their own insights into the latest thinking in transactional banking and securities services. We at FinanceAsia.com hope you enjoy this weekÆs newsletters.
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