The Forbes Global CEO Conference is a powerful platform on which senior figures from around the world gather for intensive and interactive discussions about critical and current issues as well as build important business relationships. Launched in Singapore in 2001, it has grown over the past years to become the region's most sought-after business event and a benchmark in its industry.

THE WINNING HAND

The world economic boom is creating wealth and prosperity on an unprecedented scale. What will keep the good times rolling? Globalization is releasing the untapped ingenuity of innovators everywhere and disrupting corporations that take their eyes off the prize. Wall Street is creating dynamic investment opportunities for market players but also exposing them to uncharted liabilities. How best do CEOs and entrepreneurs maximize advantages, calculate risks and play the unbeatable hand that wins the pot? Beyond making wagers to build their companies, business leaders are raising their game to help find solutions that address social and environmental issues. With their insights, resources, skills and relationships, how can they make the most of their winnings and turn the world into a better place?

Fact and Comment

Steve Forbes, Chairman and CEO, Forbes and Editor-in-Chief, Forbes magazine
The U.S. is set to elect a new President. Who will lead the White House in the next four years? What are the main challenges that he or she has to tackle? How will the outcome of the elections affect U.S. policy toward Asia? The changing of the guard in the world’s most powerful nation has far-reaching implications.

Riding the crest of turbulence

It is a year of reckoning for the world economy. While it continues to expand, risks abound. The specter of a U.S. recession, credit concerns, excesses in financial markets, high energy prices, signs of overheating in developing economies, inflationary threats, war and terrorism are among the perils. In a globalized world, contagion from one trouble spot can also spread quickly around the world. How best can business leaders stay on top of these and other risks? Not taking risks may be the biggest hazard of all. Our panelists will assess the prospects for the global economy and highlight the new engines of growth.

Powering the global engine

The world needs more energy and commodities to keep it going. Where is it all going to come from and at what price? What is the outlook for the price of oil and how concerned should we be about supply and energy security? The commodities sector has seen an unprecedented boom in prices. How are producers maximizing this opportunity to meet rising demand? As the search for alternative fuels and environmentally-friendly technologies heats up, how should companies and entrepreneurs build a profitable business with green imperatives? How should they cultivate consumers, achieve scale and assess policy initiatives from governments and international bodies? And to what extent is nuclear power a viable source of energy today?

Innovation: the currency of competition

Globalization and the spread of technologies are bringing rapid and disruptive change to new and old businesses. How should companies in key and emerging economies compete and prosper? What are the best models and strategies for innovation? What does innovation have to do with risk-taking and cultural environments? How can management combine financial and intellectual capital not just to invent new products and services, but bring them to market at higher speed and lower cost? How do companies justify the cost of innovative strategies and measure their results?

Rolling the dice on real estate

Real estate is an architect of change and the industry responsible for transforming cities and regions into bustling economic centers which beckon the world to visit, work and play. Gaming and recreational destinations, luxury homes and designer hotels, gleaming office towers and healthcare facilities, and sprawling townships are among those being developed to meet growing infrastructural needs and lifestyle trends. What are the most promising development concepts and where are the best locations? Following the credit woes of 2007, have new investment patterns emerged? How best to ride through the booms and bubbles? What kinds of real estate investment vehicles are driving new pools of cash into brick and mortar?

A Meeting of Minds

Forbes conducts a one-on-one dialogue with a special guest speaker.

The “Best Under A Billion”

The up-and-comers in business are growing companies that are powerhouses in the making. Dynamic and entrepreneurial, these hot shots can reward investors with superior returns with their brimming potential. Unlike global conglomerates, they have to rely on speed and savvy to produce consistent growth, without the cushion of vast financial resources, staff and technologies. This panel brings together the most accomplished and promising leaders of the world’s best-run small and midsize companies, to talk about how to stay in the black, manage growth and on top of the game.

The luster of luxury

Luxury brands are no longer confined to fashion, cars and jewelry but spreading to resorts and interior design for private jets. The litmus test: How do creators of luxury goods and services turn their brands into global phenomena? What makes one brand stand out from another in an increasingly crowded market? Luxury may be a universal concept but its definition varies. How should companies act on opportunities in mature markets in Japan, America and Europe, while developing those in emerging Russia, China, India and the Middle East? What does luxury mean for the next generation? Do co-branding partnerships enhance value for brand owners over time?

The glitz and grit of media and entertainment

In the world of media and entertainment, content is king but so is distribution. Media companies can now reach audiences across physical and virtual networks with their news headlines, hit TV shows and blockbuster movies. How best should they capture a new array of opportunities in the age of the internet and mobile technology? What are the keys to success when it comes to developing creative content – for big and small screens – and new economic models that grow revenues and profits? The multi-billion dollar video game industry has also come of age. How are game companies leading the field by using technology and creativity to design, publish, and market the most sought-after games and gaming devices?

A Meeting of Minds

Forbes conducts a one-on-one dialogue with a special guest speaker.

Transforming healthcare

Life extension is among the greatest achievements of the 20th century and the advance of medical technologies gives us hope for continued progress against life-threatening diseases everywhere. What are the ground-breaking developments in medical research and healthcare that are transforming the way diseases are fought and patients treated? Medical tourism is a fast-growing phenomenon estimated to be a $40 billion industry by 2010. World class hospitals and doctors in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and India are among those catering to the maladies of foreign patients who travel overseas for surgeries at discounted costs. How will this continue to develop?

India takes flight

India’s economy has been growing at near-double digits and its takeoff is gaining speed. Indian conglomerates are becoming global partners – and competitors - to some of the world’s biggest companies. What’s next for India as it further integrates into the world economy? How will local companies and foreign multinationals help India modernize? How will India keep diversifying the outsourcing sector? What will keep pushing the manufacturing sector? How are India’s leading retailers, banks, pharmaceutical companies and other service providers turning the country into a center for innovation?

Scores for China

China rises to the Olympian challenge of hosting the Games in Beijing in 2008. How will it carry the torch in its next leg of development? The private sector is now a solid growth engine. How will China’s entrepreneurs keep building thriving businesses at home and abroad? What opportunities will arise in high-technology, services and other sectors? How will manufacturing and heavy industry keep growing? Foreign companies train the lens on China as the beacon of future growth. What are the most effective ways to build a strategic presence and grow profits on the mainland?

A Meeting of Minds

Forbes conducts a one-on-one dialogue with a special guest speaker

Entrepreneurs and corporations: capitalist tools that save the world?

Can the private sector be a leading force in addressing global challenges such as eradicating poverty, protecting the environment or advancing world peace? Forbes estimates the collective net worth of the world’s billionaires is at least $4.4 trillion. How can business leaders and entrepreneurs drive philanthropy forward? In what ways are they transforming philanthropy into meaningful social investment? Corporations are also broadening their value systems to include social responsibility. Yet the notion of for-profit corporations deploying assets for social purposes other than for shareholders is irresponsible to some. How best can corporations make a difference?

Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award

The Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to honor a lifetime of achievement as a hero of entrepreneurial capitalism. It is the highest form of recognition of global business success bestowed by Forbes Inc on a single individual. Above all, the recipient should embody and exemplify the ideals of free enterprise championed by Malcolm S. Forbes in his lifetime and within the pages of Forbes magazine since its founding in 1917. The award is open to heroes of entrepreneurial capitalism from any country or field of business. Candidates for the Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award are selected by the Forbes family and senior management of Forbes Inc.
Presented by: Steve Forbes, Chairman and CEO, Forbes and Editor-in-Chief, Forbes magazine

“Current Events”: a roundtable with Forbes’ renowned columnists