KL to welcome Sir Richard Branson for landmark forum

According to Adoi, this event is being staged by the venerable International Herald Tribune in association with the London Speaker Bureau. The forum is the first of its kind to be staged in Asia and it will feature more than 15 leading luminaries in the field of finance and investment.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak will be giving the official key note speech at the event which takes place on 27 and 28 September at the Renaissance Hotel. 

Branson will be giving his eagerly anticipated special keynote speech on the opening day of the forum. The billionaire is expected to outline his thoughts on the current investment landscape and on the growing importance of Asia. As the head of Virgin Atlantic Airways he has a particularly relevant perspective on the airline industry, however, as the owner of 360 other companies, the depth and breadth of his experience is virtually peerless. 

Recently-turned 60, Branson began his life in business at the age of 16 launching a magazine called Student. By 22 he had a chain of successful record stores. Then followed the airline, the mobile phone company, a railway, a healthcare company and even a space tourism venture. He is now worth an estimated US$4 billion. His philanthropy is as famed as his trans-continental balloon voyages. 

Attending the two-day forum will be over 1,000 delegates from across the region including some leading bankers, investors and fund managers. They will be hearing not just from Richard Branson but also from Mary Buffet, daughter-in-law of Warren Buffet, arguably the world’s most successful investor. The other speakers will include Anil Gupta, renowned expert on strategy and globalisation; Dr Fang Gang one of China's most influential economists and Augusto Lopez-Claros, chief economist with the World Economic Forum. 

Invaluable opinions, predictions, advice and speculation will be shared at this seminal event. It will be extremely informative and, of course, a gilt-edged networking opportunity. It is to be noted that this is a regional event that will be heavily publicised throughout the IHT and worthy of further note is that Malaysia was selected as host above some strong competition.

For more information about the forum including a full list of the speakers, the programme and details of how to book tickets please visit www.invest2010.asia.