I recently spoke at the Economist CFO Roundtable and they have just asked me back to speak at next months event themed “The Bellwether Series: Charting the future of finance in Asia-Pacific”.
Japan’s financial sector and its financial system are no longer the sick men of global finance. Asset rich, with players varying from its mega-banks to regional and local institutions, from private sector to public sector, from domestic to foreign, the finance system is a vital part of Japan’s economy and must evolve accordingly. It must cope with financing vast government debt; it must provide funds to the private sector, and has a role to play in encouraging growth, dynamism and innovation. How can all these objectives be met simultaneously?
Anyway, I speak on Wednesday, May 19th on “Japan’s capital markets: the whole story”. My sessions will address questions such as:
- What is the capital raising model currently, and what is the impact of low economic growth?
- Banks versus capital markets: what is the optimal balance for providing capital?
- Can Japan’s capital markets ever adequately service start-ups and non-investment grade credits?
- How can private equity be constructively encouraged?
- Which entities can best finance SMEs? Can this ever be market-driven, or will there always be a role for government entities?
Since this crowdsourcing thing (1, 2) is working pretty well and I get a lot of really good feedback, advice and input on what I should emphasize during these presentations, please feel free to comment – I look forward to them.
Update: The event will be held at the the Mandarin Oriental Hotel – Grand Ballroom 3F.