JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon joins Bridgewater’s Dalio, mainland Chinese tycoons for major global investment conference in Saudi Arabia

The forum organised by the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute takes place in Riyadh from October 24 to 26
Some 30 mainland Chinese entrepreneurs and senior executives, including Foxconn CEO Liu Young-way, will attend

Banking & finance

Peggy Sito

Published: 9:45am, 18 Oct 2023

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Corrected [4:14pm, 18 Oct, 2023]

[4:14pm, 18 Oct, 2023]
Corrects to say in the 7th paragraph that the PIF is a founding partner of the FII.

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More than 6,000 investors, innovators, academics and policymakers including the American billionaire investor Ray Dalio and Blackrock chairman Lawrence Fink, will fly into Saudi Arabia next week for a three-day investment conference.

Some 30 mainland Chinese entrepreneurs and senior executives, including Foxconn CEO Liu Young-way, will be among those in attendance.

The seventh edition of the forum organised by the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute, under the theme “the new compass” – a reference to the world’s changing dynamics – aims to serve as “the unique global conversation platform” for leaders to discuss international development trends such as the future of artificial intelligence (AI), food security, energy and technology, according to FII chief executive Richard Attias.

It will take place in Riyadh from October 24 to 26, just a few weeks before the institute’s regional summit, the FII Priority, will be staged in Hong Kong on December 7 and 8.

“This will be the first time the Institute has staged the summit in Asia,” Attias said in an interview with the South China Morning Post.

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The Asian event has over 300 people registered, with nearly 80 confirmed speakers, he said.

The FII Institute, a non-profit organisation that counts Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) as a founding partner, plays a significant role in the government’s Saudi Vision 2030 programme of economic and social reform.

The 6th edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh on October 25, 2022. Photo: FII Institute

“As we convene this gathering of world leaders at this critical time in history, the planet, the global economy and society face a convergence of challenges,” the FII Institute’s chairman Yasir Rumayyan said. “These include global economic stability and growth, the environment, and the acceleration of technological breakthroughs including generative AI, education and health. The discussions on the agenda will help shape the future of humanity.”

More than 6,000 participants and 560 speakers from all corners of the globe will attend the summit in Riyadh, said Attias.

The Riyadh forum is “a platform where people come every year to understand where the money should be invested for good,” and to tackle some of the world’s most intractable challenges, he said.

Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates LP, spoke during a panel session at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh on October 25, 2022. Photo: Bloomberg.

The event comprises 250 panel discussions and presentations by leaders and expects, and will showcase pioneering technologies. There will also be interactive sessions with investors and private boardroom meetings.

On the first day, the “board of changemakers” panel featuring influential figures from the world of finance such as JP Morgan chairman Jamie Dimon, HSBC Group CEO Noel Quinn and Sequoaia Capital’s Neil Shen will take place alongside separate discussions on “defining dynamism amid global shocks”, the “next model for global banking”, AI investment, and green technologies.

Laura Cha, chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, the operator of the city’s stock exchange, will speak on day one in a plenary session discussing the trends emerging in global capital markets amid geopolitical and inflationary challenges.

Laura Cha (right), the chairwoman of the HKEX Group, spoke at a breakout forum of the FII conference on October 26, 2022. Photo: FII.

Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, will join a breakfast meeting with the Chinese CEOs on the second day of the forum.

Attias revealed that this year more than 200 delegates from China, representing the new economy, will join the forum. They will include about 30 entrepreneurs, investment bankers, and business leaders such as George Huang, chief executive officer of SenseTime, Hillhouse Investment’s Janice Tang Jie, Zijin Mining Group chairman Chen Jinghe, and Li Tong, chairwoman of BOC International.

“We will together design the new compass, because the world is so unpredictable that we need to understand the new directions,” said Attias.

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He said the December conference in Hong Kong will feature additional activities including a reception to experience the city’s lifestyle on the evening before the event and a golf tournament the day after. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po cancelled his attendance at FII at the last minute to stay in Hong Kong for the Chief Executive John Lee’s second policy address.

In October last year, Chan attended the sixth edition of the FII summit, and spoke at its plenary session, promoting Hong Kong’s status and development as Asia’s leading international financial centre in the new era. Eight months later, FII announced the regional summit is to be held in Hong Kong.