ICC announced that it will hold its first-ever Regional CEO Forum for the Asia-Pacific region in Hong Kong. The Forum, titled “Looking at the Global Economy from Asia-Pacific Perspectives,” aims to provide a platform for CEOs in the region to meet and debate challenges and prospects facing the global economy.

Victor K. Fung, Chairman of ICC, said: “The world must address many concerns given today’s economic climate. As the world’s business organization, ICC is well-placed to bring together some of the best and brightest minds for an in-depth look at these issues. We believe that by placing focus on Asia, and holding the Forum in its finance centre of Hong Kong, we can help bring to the fore this region’s importance in the global economy both at this crucial juncture and in the long term.”

The invitation-only Forum will take place at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre and Four Seasons Hotel on 21 and 22 November 2008. Over 150 senior executives and CEOs from major corporations around Asia are expected to attend.

The Forum will be divided into two plenary sessions, each followed by discussion groups. The first, “Asia-Pacific Perspectives on the Global Economy: Challenges and Opportunities” on 21 November, will start with an address by Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and former Director-General of the World Trade Organization. The second, to be held on 22 November, is titled “Global Economic Trends and Prospects: Implications for Asia-Pacific Business Leaders”, featuring an address by William Overholt, Senior Research Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Moderating the subsequent discussion sessions are Kenneth S. Courtis, Founding Chairman of Next Capital Partners, former Managing Director of Goldman Sachs and Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asia; Jean-Pierre Lehmann, Professor of International Political Economy at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland; Clyde Prestowitz, founder and President of the Economic Strategy Institute in Washington DC, United States; Martin Wassell, ICC First Director and Richard Wong, Professor of Economics and Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost at the University of Hong Kong.

Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, will address a gala dinner to be held on the evening of 21 November.

ICC, whose secretariat is based in Paris, is the voice of world business, championing the global economy as a force for economic growth, job creation and prosperity. Its activities cover a broad spectrum, from arbitration and dispute resolution to making the case for open trade and the market economy system, business self-regulation, fighting corruption and combating commercial crime.

The ICC Regional CEO Forum is being made possible in part through Platinum Sponsorship by the Li & Fung Group and Citibank, who are celebrating 100 years of partnership. The event is further supported by Gold Sponsors AEA/Aetos, Clifford Chance and Ernst & Young.

For more details about the ICC Regional CEO Forum, please  click here