T

he 21st Forbes Global CEO Conference took place in Singapore on September 11 and 12, gathering some 450 leading CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors and thought leaders from around the world.

Notable speakers at the event included: Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of African Export-Import Bank; Jenny Johnson, President and CEO of Franklin Templeton; Eduardo Saverin, Cofounder and Co-CEO at B Capital; Ho Kwon Ping, Founder and Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings; Chartsiri Sophonpanich, President of Bangkok Bank; Sonia Cheng, CEO of Rosewood Hotel Group and Vice-Chairman of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery; Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi, Group CEO of Frasers Property; Hana Al Rostamani, Group CEO of First Abu Dhabi Bank; Sabin M. Aboitiz, President and CEO of Aboitiz Group; Mohammed Dewji, President of MeTL Group; Jenny Lee, Managing Partner at GGV Capital; Harald Link, Chairman of B.Grimm; Jeffrey Jaensubhakij, Group Chief Investment Officer at GIC; and Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A.

For the full list of speakers, please visit the conference website. Key insights and highlights from the conference can be found below.

CP’s Dhanin Chearavanont Receives Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award

Dhanin Chearavanont, senior chairman of Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), received the Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award at the Forbes Global CEO Conference on September 11 in Singapore.

The award recognizes a lifetime of entrepreneurial achievement and is a celebration of global business success bestowed upon a business leader who embodies and exemplifies the ideals of free enterprise championed by the late Malcolm S. Forbes, the legendary publisher of Forbes.

“When I took over the business, I didn’t imagine it would grow to today’s scale,” Dhanin said on stage during a dialogue with Forbes Media’s chairman and editor-in-chief Steve Forbes at the award ceremony.

Indonesia’s Finance Minister Upbeat On Growth As Domestic Demand Resilient

“Indonesia is relatively lucky. We are quite resilient, domestic demand is there and we address the issue of inflation not through just relying on monetary policy,” said Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance, Republic of Indonesia.

Singapore Vows To Remain Vigilant Amid Money Laundering Probe: DPM Heng

“Money laundering, counterterrorism financing, are areas which we are very vigilant about, from very early on. We want Singapore to be a financial sector that people can trust, that it is a centre for channelling capital to productive uses if you are in the private enterprises,” said Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Singapore.

Artificial Intelligence Evolution Brings Individual Empowerment, Tech Experts Say

“What’s empowering about [AI technology] is that it’s driving, in some ways, a realism to the idea that the world can be personalized down to the level of one,” said Eduardo Saverin, Cofounder and Co-CEO, B Capital.

“I’m generally very, very optimistic [about AI technologies]. One of the biggest challenges right now is that this is all happening at the same time, and unexpectedly,” said Meng Ru Kuok, Group CEO and Founder, Caldecott Music Group.

“AI is the perfect tool…For the first time, we have an opportunity to affect every single organization, in terms of how they get work done, in terms of how they think,” said Rohan Narayana Murty, Founder and CTO, Soroco.

“I always say, AI will save us before it kills us. It’s a tool, still, and it’s at our service,” said Antoine Blondeau, Cofounder and Managing Partner, Alpha Intelligence Capital.