The event will feature business elites from various nations/regions including Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, India, Great Britain and Holland, said CommonWealth Magazine, the organizer.

"We hope that everyone can cheer for Taiwan and help put the island on the international stage," said the magazine's publisher, Diane Ying.

The forum will discuss two topics: "Global and Asian Economy" and "Greater China Economic Circle," respectively on today and tomorrow. President Ma Ying-jeou will give the opening address today at 9:15 a.m. at Grand Formosa Regent Hotel, venue of the forum.

Among the heavyweight keynote speakers will be Jiang Jianqing, chairman of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. This will be the first time a Chinese banker will speak in Taiwan since the Jan. 16 implementation of a cross-strait financial memorandum of understanding (MOU), which will allow financial firms from both sides of the strait to invest in each other's market.

Other speakers will include Ma Yun, founder of alibaba.com, the world's largest B2B site; Chen Tien-jy, former chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development; Barry Lam, chairman of Quanta; Stan Shih, founder of Acer Inc.; Douglas Hsu, chairman of the Far Eastern Group; Morris Chang, chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.; Hau Lung-bin, Mayor of Taipei; K. Y. Lee, chairman of AU Optronics; Lu Shyue-ching, chairman of Chunghwa Telecom; Lee Chi-chu, vice chairman of Financial Supervisory Commission; and Johnsee Lee, president of Industrial Technology Research Institute.

Moderators of the panels will be well-known and respectable figures in their respective fields. They include: Chu Ching-yi, chairman of Chung-Hua Institution of Economic Research; Tang Ming-che, vice principle of National Taiwan University; and Wu Ying-chun, editor-in-chief of CommonWealth Magazine.

Finally, Tony Keng Yam Tan, deputy chairman of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. (GIC), will speak on the global economy in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and the opportunities for Asian banks.

Founded in 1981, GIC is Singapore's biggest sovereign wealth fund management company, tasked with managing Singapore's foreign exchange reserves.

According to government figures, Singapore's foreign exchange reserves stood at US$189 billion at the end of November 2009, exceeding the US$172 billion held by the relatively better known Temasek Holdings.

With Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister, still holding the chairmanship, GIC's importance is clear. Of the company's two vice chairmen, one is incumbent Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and the other is Tan, former Deputy Prime Minister.

During a recent exclusive interview with CommonWealth Magazine, he said in the wake of the global financial crisis, the role of developing countries in the global economy will only increase, and GIC's investments in developing countries will hold a greater weight in its portfolio than those in the mature markets of Europe and North America -- points that he will also emphasize in his speech today.

(The China Post)