PECC International Conference

Organized by the Korea National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation (KOPEC)
in collaboration with the Korea Securities Research Institute (KSRI)

Competition among Financial Centers in the Asia-Pacific:

Prospects, Benefits, and Costs – Stumbling Blocks or Building Blocks towards a Regional Financial Community?

Westin Chosun Hotel, Seoul, Korea

October 15-16, 2007

PROGRAM

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The conference will bring together distinguished experts on the subject and many leading finance professionals and businessmen from around the Asia-Pacific region, up to 150 in number, to share their views and insights on the following and related issues: Many cities in the Asia-Pacific region each have claimed their intention to become an international financial center. The national and metropolitan authorities for those cities have launched ambitious programs to develop or enhance their respective financial centers as international financial centers (IFCs). What will those ambitions and programs in the end add up to? Which ones among them are likely to be the winners? Would the competition among these financial centers facilitate the emergence of a regional financial community by helping financial institutions to become more competitive and financial markets more integrated? Or would it thwart financial integration, regional or global, due to cross-purpose competition? Would it result in excessive competitive deregulation and thus undermine the financial stability in the region? What are the policy implications for regional governments and financial institutions? How can we all win?

Sunday, October 14

Participants arrive & register

Welcoming reception and dinner hosted by KOPEC

Monday, October 15

Registration

Opening Session

Opening Remarks by Dr. Soogil Young, KOPEC Chair, and Dr. Dosoung Choi, KSRI President

Keynote Address by Mr. Dominic Barton, Chairman, Asia, McKinsey & Company, “International Financial Centers - the Terms of Competition and Prospects for the Asia-Pacific Region”

Q&A

Coffee Break

Case Study Reports: Vision, Strategies, Roadmap, and Progress

Why do the cities want to become IFCs? What are the visions, strategies, and the roadmaps that individual cities have set out to pursue? What has been the progress thus far in the respective cities? What are the difficulties and prospects? What would be the benefits and costs of the competition to those cities?

Session I. Hong Kong & Singapore

Chair: Dr. Kihwan Kim, Chairman, Seoul Financial Forum; International Advisor, Goldman Sachs Korea

Presentations

• Hong Kong: Prof. Jesus Seade, Lingnan University, Hong Kong (paper)/(presentation)
• Singapore: Prof. Tan Khee Giap, Nanyang Technological University (presentation)

Comments

• Prof. Sang Kee Min, Seoul National University
• Dr. David Hong, President, Taiwan Institute for Economic Research

Open discussion

Luncheon hosted by Mr. Andreas Neuber, Chairman & CEO, UBS Hana Asset Management

Guest Speech by Mayor Se-hoon Oh, Seoul Metropolitan Government, on “Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Vision of Seoul”

Chair: Prof. Tan Teck Meng, Singapore Management University

Summary Presentations

• Tokyo: Prof. Sayuri Shirai, Keio University (presentation)
• Sydney and Melbourne: Mr. Nicholas Gruen, CEO, Lateral Economics (presentation)

Comments

• Mr. Simon Cooper, President & CEO, HSBC Korea
• Ms. Alicia Ogawa, Associate Director, Center on Japanese Economy and Business, Columbia University

Open Discussion

Coffee Break

Chair: Prof. Yung-Chul Park, Seoul National University

Presentations

• Shanghai and Beijing: Dr. Xu Mingqi, Professor and Deputy Director, Institute of World Economy, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (presentation)/(paper)
• Wellington: Prof. Roger Bowden, Professor of Economics and Finance, Victoria University of Wellington, and Director, Kiwicap Research Ltd. (presentation)
• Seoul: Dr. Hansoo Kim, Research Fellow, Korea Securities Research Institute (presentation)

Comments

• Mr. James Rooney, President & CEO, Market Force Company, Seoul
• Dr. Meral Karasulu, IMF Resident Representative, Korea
• Dr. Sang Yong Park, Professor of Finance, Yonsei University (presentation)

Open Discussion

Welcome Dinner hosted by Mr. Chung Won Kang, President & CEO, Kookmin Bank

Dinner speech by Mr. Yong-Ro Yun, Vice-Chairman, Financial Supervisory Commission, Korea, “Korea’s Financial Internationalization: Progress and Prospects”

Tuesday, October 16

International Perspectives: Issues and Implications for the Asia-Pacific Region

What will be the impact on commercial banks, investment banks, securities companies, etc., in the region? What will be the role of global financial institutions in this competition? What are the stakes involved in the competition among the financial centers for the region as a whole and the global financial markets? Will this competition be conducive to the emergence of a regional financial community? Or will it create stumbling blocks in building such a community? How serious is the risk of overderegulation in the region as a result of the competition? Are there ways of harnessing this competition to better promote financial development and integration in the region?

Session IV. Financial Center Competition among Asia-Pacific Cities – Benefits and Costs to the Region and Implications for Financial Development and Integration in the Region

Chair: Dr. Masahiro Kawai, Dean, Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI)

Presentations:

• Mr. David Cowen, Senior Economist, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, IMF (presentation)
• Dr. Jong-Wha Lee, Head of Regional Economic Integration, ADB (presentation)
• Mr. Kyu Bang, Division Director, Macquarie Securities (presentation)

Open Discussion

Coffee break

Panel Discussion – Issues and Findings

Chair: Prof. Hugh Patrick, R.D. Calkins Professor of International Business Emeritus, and Director of the Center on Japanese Economy and Business, Columbia University Graduate School of Business

Comments by Session Chairs:

• Dr. Kihwan Kim, Chair of Session I
• Prof. Tan Teck Meng, Chair of Session II
• Prof. Yung-Chul Park, Chair of Session III
• Dr. Masahiro Kawai, Chair of Session IV
• Mr John Burton, Singapore Bureau Chief, Financial Times

Open Discussion

Closing Session: Concluding Observations

Chair: Dr. Soogil Young, Chair, KOPEC & Project Coordinator

• Prof. Hugh Patrick, Chair, Panel Discussion Session
• Prof. Dosoung Choi, Lead Author of the Project Report
• Prof. Sayuri Shirai, Co-author of the Project Report
• Prof. Jesus Seade, Co-author of the Project Report

Farewell Luncheon hosted by Korea Securities Research Institute (KSRI)