Page 164 - INVESTOPIA ENGLISH PR REPORT - International Part 2

3/11/24, 11:42 AM Investopia 2024 holds 11 panel discussions exploring investment opportunities in the new economy, technology, circular and crea…
Participants in this session were Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund; Dr. François
Bourguignon, Honorary President of the Paris School of Economics; and Dr. Nathan Sheets, Chief Economist at Citi; and John
Defterios, Professor of Business Administration at NYU Abu Dhabi.

Dr. Mohieldin highlighted the necessity of paying attention to low and middle-income countries in a changing global economic trend
and cited Africa, where the continent grew for many countries from being a low-income region to becoming middle-income.

“Middle-income countries and the middle class populations are being squeezed, and mid-sized enterprises do not have the same
support as SMEs,” Dr. Mohieldin said.

“The middle needs investment, but [the situation] is not being discussed,” he added, and went further and underlined the urgent need
for investment in human capital, education and infrastructure.” Dr. Mohieldin also noted that debt and development problems remain
among the most critical issues facing the global economy and are of great concern to investors worldwide.

Dr. Bourguignon drew attention to the urgent need to take more steps to achieve carbon neutrality to avoid the future repercussions
that any additional delay in responding to climate change could cause. He explained that the current framework in place for the
manufacturing and production of global goods needs to be replaced with a new one.

Meanwhile, Dr. Sheets expressed a more optimistic view about the global economy’s health, suggesting that an ever-advancing
technology ecosystem has confronted many challenges the world has faced in recent years.

Concerning the UAE’s economy, Dr. Bourguignon said that what enables the country to face the economic challenges the world is its
flexibility and resilience.

In another panel, John Defterios, Professor of Business at NYU Abu Dhabi, spoke to three government officials. H.E. Ryad Mezzour,
Minister of Industry and Trade of the Kingdom of Morocco; Jose-Maria Figueres, Former President of Costa Rica; and H.E Valentino
Valentini, Deputy Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy; all contributed to a lively debate under the theme: Navigating the New
Economy: Global Economic Trends Challenging Governments where the four discussed today’s rapid economic developments,
technological and digital advancements, renewable energy and issues facing globalisation.

Another panel discussion saw H.E. Khaldoun Al Mubarak, Managing Director and CEO of Mubadala Investment Company, present a
comprehensive review of the new investment sectors the company has identified and spoke about the necessity of innovating new
investment methods and responding intelligently to the challenges and investment opportunities arising from recent global economic
changes.

In yet another session titled ‘Investing in the Creative Economy’ with the renowned British actor, musician, and director Idris Elba, Elba
noted that there are several untapped investment opportunities in the creative economy.

The opening day of Investopia 2024 also hosted a roundtable titled: ‘Family Offices: Catalysing ESG and Shaping the Future’ with
Standard Chartered Bank and the UAE-UK Business Council, which acknowledged sustainability as a key pillar in the new economy.

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