'Desperate Times Need Desperate Measures Or Then Let's Accept Our Fate'

IT WAS WONDERFUL TO SEE THE revival of the Forbes Global CEO conference that was held post Covid in Singapore in October this year. It was great to reconnect with global leaders as well as meet Forbes’ extended family from different parts of the world.

The highlight of the event was the declaration from the organizers that the net worth in the hall of 400 delegates was $500 billion; it wasn’t surprising to hear that number considering that 30% of the wealth came from the richest man in the room – and third richest in the world as of November according to Forbes – Gautam Adani, whose speech was a leaf from ‘Invest India’. The mood was buoyant in Asia and despite all the troubles around the world, there was much optimism about the future of Asian economies including the rich GCC countries that remain optimistic because of stable oil prices. This was a sharp contrast from my stay in Europe in July and August where the metaphorical and absolute temperatures are getting to be a point of concern about the future.

I was also fortunate to go back to Namibia, after 10 years, at the request of Dr David Namwandi (the country’s former minister of education), to deliver a talk to a mixed audience of ministers, diplomats, businesspeople, and alumni at The International University of Management. Namibia remains a small country by all standards and is still highly reliant on a rich and powerful neighbor as evident from the fact that almost 90% of all retail brands are South African brands. However, Namibia is an economy on the move and determined on chartering its own future in the years to come. Not only has the country recently discovered oil but has also pioneered the green energy revolution through the green hydrogen project – Hyphen, which is a multi-billion-dollar investment that will take the country towards energy security and clean energy. I was particularly impressed with the quality of executives I met at the Namibian Investment Promotion and Development Board who have a clear mandate from the government to catalyze investments.