Events Highlights
The Asian Banker Summit 2007
Day 1: 25 March 2007
Two top Indonesian ministers congratulate leadership award winners
The Asian Banker Summit kicks off with a gathering of the who’s who of financial services industry leaders in a gala event celebrating leadership and cohesive teamwork
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs, H. E. Dr Boediono (top) and Minister of Finance Dr Mulyani Indrawati (below) delivering speeches during the awards ceremony.
On the opening day of The Asian Banker Summit, winners of The Asian Banker Achievement Awards for individual leadership were congratulated by Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs, H.E. Dr. Boediono along with Minister of Finance Dr. Mulyani Indrawati. The gala event for Asia’s premier financial services industry leaders was attended by over 250 guests and well-wishers. Click here to view the full list of winners.
In a speech to delegates, Indrawati gave her view of challenges to the banking system in Indonesia. While she admitted that Indonesia’s growth rates do not compare with China’s and India’s, she highlighted the sustainability of the country’s GDP growth, which she expects to increase by more than five percent annually until 2010.
In a separate address, Boediono indicated upcoming plans to lower corporate tax to 25 percent from 30 percent. And while Boediono noted that other fiscal and monetary policy reforms intended to encourage investment in Indonesia are in an advanced stage of preparation, he also conceded that political pressure had put an important labour reform on hold.
As one of the largest gatherings of senior bank leaders, the Achievement Awards ceremony was a celebration of the current generation of bank leaders who had been selected for their achievements through a process endorsed by their peers, as well as the elder statesmen of the financial services industry. It was really a case of the Asian banking industry’s greatest leaders standing neck to neck with giants, with the selection committee chaired by William Seidman, former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as well as Sir Brian Pitman, former chairman of Lloyds, and David Eldon, former chairman of HSBC in Asia Pacific.
During their speeches, the common thread linking the winners was that most of them thanked their teams, and often the workforce of their banks. Dr. Vichit Surapongchai, the winner for Thailand, quoted Jack Welch, saying that the world belongs to those with passion, not just management skills, and not just have energy, but can successfully energise those around them. Indeed, one of the qualifications for the award was the ability of the leaders to make a difference in their markets by rallying a strong, cohesive management team.
Naturally, the business of cleaning up a difficult institution was highlighted as an achievement. “Our clients, our workforce, and indeed our country will prosper along with us,” declared Agus Martowardojo, president director of Indonesia’s largest financial institution, Bank Mandiri, when collecting his award on home turf. Martowardojo has been instrumental in reducing non-performing loans (NPLs) at his bank by pushing aggressive collection.
Another who has turned his bank around through a long career in his bank was Jiang Jianqing, chairman and executive director of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, who received the leadership award for China as well as the Asia Pacific region. Delivering his speech in English, Jiang emphasised the strength of Asia’s growth engine, one of the contributing factors for his incredible achievement in leading his bank to the world’s largest IPO last year.
Someone who made a similarly significant contribution to her market, albeit a much smaller one, was Teresita “Tessie” Sy-Coson. As vice-chairperson of Equitable PCI Bank (Equitable), she led the consolidation of Banco de Oro and Equitable in the Philippines, which will create the second-largest bank in the country. Clinching one of the inaugural awards for women in the financial services industry, Sy-Coson noted how she had to wait patiently for male counterparts to yield control. She was also a joint winner for the Philippines with Nestor Tan, president of Banco de Oro, who triumphantly questioned doubters. “Who’d believe that this could be led by a non-banker?” he asked.
Some of the attendees enjoying the gala awards dinner.
The evening ended soberly, though, with two messages that urged not just good leadership but strong foresight. Cesar Virata, former prime minister and minister of finance of the Philippines, as well as the former president of the Bankers Association of the Philippines, noted the importance of promoting ecologically sound business as a responsibility to future growth. Virata received a lifetime achievement award for his lifelong achievements in financial services. David Morgan, chief executive officer, Westpac Banking Corporation, conveyed a similar message, propounding the importance of corporate sustainability, and looking beyond the short term by managing risk and responsibility into the future. Asia may be a growth market across the region, but without a long-term view among its leaders, achievement in future could still be severely brought up short.
Now in its 8th year, the Asian Banker Summit is the leading event for recognising and celebrating the best in Asia’s banks. With 14 country awards recognising the most eminent bank leaders as well as 12 category awards, and 3 lifetime awards, The Asian Banker Achievement Awards is the most important event in the industry calendar.
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