2022 Event Highlights – Session Two – Rethinking Globalization
Event Highlights
Session Two: Rethinking Globalization
Uncertainty is the name of the game for financial markets. They soar one day and swoon the next. Even before Covid-19, many governments had abandoned their support for liberal trade. This “post-globalization” thinking threatens to slow global growth, to lower real incomes and to diminish prospects for every kind of international cooperation. It’s time for a spirited defense of global free trade. Our experts debate the new economic thinking that can refresh globalization for the modern world.
Below are some highlights from the session.
The New Reality for Financial Markets
“I believe the market will go down further from here,” said H.E. Ghanem Al Ghenaiman, Managing Director, Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA). KIA is waiting for a further expected decline in global markets before deploying investments and believes that will be before the end of the year.
Jenny Johnson, President & CEO, Franklin Templeton, said a lot of volatility is on the horizon. “You can’t always wait for the bottom. You start to deploy appropriately and you look for the opportunities.”
Tidjane Thiam, Executive Chairman, Freedom Acquisition Corp. 1 said that some issues facing the global market right now include the impact of Covid-19, the Russia-Ukraine war, inflation, weakening of currencies in non-oil-producing emerging markets and the future of US-China relations.
A New Era for Globalization
Bob Moritz, Global Chairman, PwC believes that globalization needs to be rewired. “The reality is the benefits of globalization, which have been well regarded and well founded, hit a pause, but the need for interaction amongst the globe and all its stakeholder(s) continues,” Mortiz said.
Ferit S. Şahenk, Chairman & CEO, Dogus Group spoke about the need for collectivism to solve the current issues such as inflation and stagflation. Şahenk mentioned things like the handling of the 2008 crisis and Covid-19 as an example.
“Covid was a testament to the system and it shows that resiliency was a challenge,” H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al-Thani, Minister of Commerce & Industry, State of Qatar said. The minister added on the importance of resiliency and co-working with international organizations as the way forward.
The Supply Chain Crisis
H.E. Ahmad Al-Sayed, Minister of State & Chairman, Qatar Free Zones Authority said that the challenge with the supply chain is a combination of Covid-19, food security, inflation, the Ukraine situation, and consumer behavior.
The Honorable Dr. Fred Matiang’i, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Interior & Coordination of National Government, Republic of Kenya said that if a company needs 200 parts to build an item, disruption in the supply of one item will stop the entire supply of those items across the board.
Abdulrahman Salim Al Hatmi, Group CEO, Asyad Group did not agree with Matiang’i. He stated that having 200 part suppliers to a product is good for the global economy. “It will be a multiple sourcing reality,” he said.
News Coverage
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