Ajith Vijay Kumar
It’s January again! The rich and the famous, anyone who is someone, will be on their annual pilgrimage to Davos. Alighting from helicopters and private jets of the fanciest kind, the global elite will deliberate on ways to “make our world a better place” at the World Economic Forum.
From January 23 to 27, this small Alpine village famous for its ski slopes will play host to more than 2,500 people from 88 countries. Amongst them will be 27 Heads of State, 113 Cabinet Ministers, and around 74 CEOs from the world's top 100 companies.
The most pressing issues of the day, including the economy, terrorism and climate change, will be put on table and discussed through a series of open discussions, workshops, panels and sessions.
The official theme of this confab of the resplendently rich and powerful is "The Power of Collaborative Innovation". Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair along with the likes of Bill Gates, Henry Kissinger, K V Kamath and others will ponder over the emergence of the next wave of technological change that will have the power to change world's markets.
Gobal honchos, while savouring the choicest of cuisines and wines, will also discuss the rise of social media and how the corporate fraternity can harness it to create better models for business, education, and healthcare.
However, Davos founder Klaus Schwab is conscious of the fact that the official agenda of the meet has become notional. He knows that the “unofficial” agenda will prevail over the mindscape of the delegates.
Black Monday and Davos
It’s amazing how much can change in a week. The plummeting equity markets, ongoing banking crisis and fears of a global economic slowdown has fuelled the fear factors of ignorance and uncertainty.
A rout that everyone prayed never happens has HAPPENED!
How much of the global economy will be affected if major recession sets in? Are the financial institutions being transparent about the condition of their balance sheets?
And more importantly will the prevailing uncertainties destabilise security on a global scale?
These are the very questions that will be foremost in the minds of CEOs and Finance Ministers gathering at Davos.
The specter of global recession will be the ‘only’ agenda. The gloomy settings this year is in sharp contrast from a year ago, when participants at the World Economic Forum were toasting to worldwide steady economic growth patterns.
Hedge and private equity funds were star attractions in 2007, but this year the sovereign wealth funds that invest billions of dollars of reserves in developing countries would undoubtedly be the most courted participants.
More importantly, Davos will see a different kind of collaboration. Banking majors from the world over will certainly try to co-exist by putting forth new plans for unified interest rate management.
After all, the US recession and its profound effect on economies world over, has made everybody prudent enough to realize that ‘it’s a small world’ and whether it will turn out to a better place remains to be seen at Davos.
