From Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Feb 24: The three-day ASEAN Chambers of Commerce and Industry Business Meet opening in Bengaluru on Monday has already lined up investment proposals worth more than US $12 billion in various sectors including infrastructure, aerospace, defence, artificial intelligence, machine intelligence and robotics.
Sudhakar S Shetty, president of Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), which is hosting the conference for the first time in the south, said, “We have received a number of investment proposals from ASEAN, ASEAN Plus and Special Invitee countries. Two major ones on our table are: from a business council in the United States and the Indian subsidiary of a prominent Chinese construction company. The details will be announced at the conference.”
He said they are planning to sign memoranda of understanding with the Government of Karnataka during the ASEAN summit, and follow them up with letters of interest from the investors in specific sectors.
The conference is being inaugurated on Monday by Governor VajubhaiVala at the banquet hall, VidhanaSoudha, in the presence of distinguished guests including Union ministers Suresh Prabhu and Sadananda Gowda, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara.
Shetty said the next two days of the conference, February 26 and 27, will be held at Lalit Ashok, which include panel discussions on 18 different sectors, a session on ‘Look East, Act West’ with the ambassadors from ASEAN countries and a special event with a focus on investment opportunities in Karnataka.
Over 1,200 delegates, including about 300 from abroad, have confirmed their participation in the business meet. Around 30 foreign delegations, including ministers and diplomats, like Shamsul Iskandar, deputy minister of primary industries, Malaysia, Pham SanhChau, ambassador of Vietnam, Savankhone Razmountry, vice minister, information & tourism, Laos, Paduka Sidek Ali, high commissioner of Brunei, Milan Hovorka, ambassador of Czech Republic are among those attending the conference.
The FKCCI President said large business delegations are expected from Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, the US and the UAE. Indian billionaire businessman BR Shetty, who is settled in the Emirates, is leading a team of 25 business leaders.
One of the highlights of the international conference is that both the days will begin with one-hour yoga and meditation session led by the Art of Living team and one more hour of cultural programme.
The founder of Art of Living, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is scheduled to make a special address on Day 2.
Many interesting panel sessions have been lined up on artificial intelligence, innovation in healthcare, renewable energy, opportunities for SMEs in aerospace and defence, global trends in fin-tech, digital transformation in the supply chain and the future of mass transportation, besides delegation-level B2B, B2G and B2C meetings.
Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman will be the chief guest at the valedictory on Feb 27, along with state ministers G Parameshwara, KJ George, UT Khader and Shobha Karandlaje, MP.
A large exhibition has been planned, with around 150 exhibitors participating, to explore new business avenues and look for outsourcing collaboration with other ASEAN countries.