More than a hundred top entrepreneurs from across the world will get together in Seoul next week to discuss ways of promoting global economic
growth, organizers said Tuesday.
The local organizing committee said a total of 120 chief executive officers, including big-name entrepreneurs, heads of financial institutions and tech moguls, will attend the Seoul G-20
Business Summit slated for Nov. 10-11.
In addition, 11 heads of state, including South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, have also notified that they will participate in the summit, the committee said, adding it is
arranging the participation of Russian and Indonesian leaders.
The inaugural two-day meeting will be held in tandem with the G-20 meeting of political leaders on Nov. 11-12 in a bid to provide a venue for corporate heads to discuss what the business circle can contribute to the sustainable growth and how to enhance ties between the public and private sectors.
The participating CEOs will exchange views on trade and investment, finance, green growth and corporate social responsibility, the committee said. The results of their discussions will be reported to the G-20 summit.
"The Seoul Business Summit is the first such attempt to go beyond state-initiated stimulus policies and seek ways to promote private-governmental collaboration in economic
recovery," Oh Young-ho, commissioner of the summit organizing committee, said.
"If this year's business summit becomes a formal process of the G-20 summit, it will be a legacy of Korea's initiative."
Some of them will also hold separate business meetings on the sidelines to strike deals and forge partnerships. So far, 21 enterprises have planned 72 one-on-one meetings with chiefs of
other companies, the committee said.
Among the CEOs to join the gathering are Stephen Green of British bank HSBC Holdings Plc, Josef Ackermann of Deutsche Bank and S. Gopalakrishnan of Infosys, one of the largest IT
companies in India. South Korea's richest businessman, Lee Kun-hee of Samsung Electronics Co., and Chung Mong-koo of Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group will also be present.
Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates who initially promised to join the meeting, recently cancelled his trip to South Korea, citing personal reasons.