Event name:
Global Indian Business Summit (GIBS) at Global Entrepolis Singapore
Date:
15th November 2007
Venue:
Suntec City International Convention And Exhibition Centre, Singapore
The Global Indian Business Summit (GIBS) was launched at Global Entrepolis Singapore 2006 and has become a major event for this year’s GES. This year’s Summit was held on 15 November 2007. Indians of South Asian origin are found in 136 countries around the world, and in 40 of these countries they exceed 50,000 persons. They make up more than 40% of the population in Fiji, Mauritius, Guyana & Suriname. There exist smaller minorities in Malaysia, S. Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda, U.K., U.S.A, Canada & Singapore. They are in the professions, business and more recently, politics of their country of domicile.
The short term goal of GIBS is to engage successful Diaspora Indian Entrepreneurs to meet and generate profitable partnerships. The long term goal is to create a platform for diaspora Indian businesses to meet at least once a year, to generate intra-regional business prospects and to gain global recognition for successful role models. GIBS provides a one-stop business matching platform to the Indian Business Community; investment partners from the Indian Diaspora to the Asian Business Community; and a regional flow of cross border trade and investment to the Global Business Community.
Tapping on the identified database of diaspora Indians, successful models in regional development provided opportunities in mega projects, real estate, tourism development, contract manufacturing, IT applications, etc. The unique selling point of the Summit is that it is a one stop meeting point for diaspora Indian businesses to network, create new business opportunities and learn from successful role models. In the keynote address by Dr. Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry for Information, Communication and the Arts, he noted GIBS role as a catalyst in raising awareness of the business opportunities and forging links between the Indian Diaspora and the Asian Business Community.
Opening Session
This year, there was a Gala Dinner where selected role models were presented Global Indian Business Awards, as the doyens of diaspora Indian business in their respective countries in recognition of their success in business and contribution to their respective societies. The launch of the Global Indian Business Awards highlights successful diaspora Indian businesses who serve as role models for budding and existing entrepreneurs. It also serves to draw attention to a section of otherwise unknown global businesses.
The Awards Dinner held on 15 November 2007 also witnessed the launch of NDTV Profit and NDTV 24/7 in Singapore, with SingTel as a partner. The Awards pay tribute to successful diaspora Indian business people who have demonstrated the ability to start a business, grow it in the countries they are residing in, and expand their operations beyond their borders. NDTV has made a programme summarizing the event, which will be broadcast in India and elsewhere shortly. At the Awards Dinner, Mr. Zanul Abidin Rasheed, Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, highlighted the role of the Indian diaspora in the economic growth of their respective countries and the Global Indian Business Awards as an important focus on otherwise unknown global businesses. He also welcomed diaspora Indians to consider Singapore as a base for their operations in the region and to tap on the well established network of Singapore.
The recipients of the Global Indian Business Awards 2007 are:
- Mr. Sonny Aswani, Tolaram Group (Estonia)
- Mr. Amit Lohia, Indorama Group (Indonesia)
- Mr. Gopinath Pillai, Gateway DistriParks Limited (India)
- Mr. Sunny Varkey, Varkey Group (Gulf & Middle East)
The Awards Panel comprised of:
- Mr. Vikram Khanna, Associate Editor, Business Times, Singapore
- Mr. P.N. Balji, Editorial Director for News, Radio & Print, MediaCorp Pte Ltd
Videos
Press Releases:
- At the summit
- Speech By Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Senior Minister Of State For Foreign Affairs And Mayor Of North East Community Development Council, At First Global Indian Business Awards, 15 November 2007, 8.00 pm At The Ballroom, Raffles Hotel
- Global Indian Business Summit in S’pore recognises top business performers
