Energy transformation dominates second day at FII 2019

The second day of the 2019 edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) closed with a series of debates on the environment, the energy sector and the pace and magnitude of a transition to renewable energy sources.

Among the topics discussed were the opportunities and challenges of a circular carbon economy and the new technologies transforming the oil industry in response to complex economic, social, political, and environmental pressures around the world.

In a special address to the audience followed by a conversation with Lubna Olayan, Chair of the Executive Committee, Olayan Financing Company, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro discussed his country’s political transformation and the specific measures underway to address Brazil’s social and economic challenges.

Emphasizing the Brazilian government’s task to unleash powerful market forces to drive economic growth, he told global investors that “Brazil is back in business”, stating that “this world of opportunities remains available to all of you”.

Discussing the role of capital market reforms in Vision 2030, Steven Mnuchin, US Secretary of the Treasury, told Sarah Al Suhaimi, Chairperson, Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) that “capital markets are very important in the transformation. I think the changes that you made, the technology upgrade that you have done, these are all the right things”.

Speaking about the importance of innovation, Rick Perry, US Secretary of Energy noted that “15 years ago, they told us that we had found all the fossil fuels there were to find – we’d reached peak oil. But what I remind people about is the ingenuity of the people on this globe”.

Likewise, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, Saudi Arabia, pledged that the Kingdom “shall be the doer of our future and we are going to be the maker of our future” and that the country can become the most reliable provider of solar energy, just as it was the most reliable provider of oil.

The day also saw discussions of how new collaborative models of investment are driving tech innovation at scale, with Dennis Johnson, Chief Strategy Officer of the Public Investment Fund stating that “as PIF moves forward with its investment strategy we will be focusing on AI, technology supporting smart cities, improvements in healthcare delivery, and cybersecurity".

Among the other speakers featured on the second morning of FII 2019 were John Pagano, CEO, The Red Sea Development Company, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Minister of Energy, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, UAE Minister of State & CEO, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Edgar Bronfman Jr., Executive Chairman, Global Thermostat LLC, USA, Akimasa Muyama, CTO, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Japan, Jeffrey Rosen, Deputy Chairman & Managing Director, Lazard Ltd., USA, Ahmed Heikal, Chairman & CEO, Qalaa Holdings, Egypt.

The speakers at FII 2019 include nearly 300 leading global decision makers, investors and experts from more than 30 countries. The speakers demonstrate FII’s global perspective, with significant numbers coming from North America (39 percent), Europe (20 percent), Asia (19 percent) and the Middle East (15 percent). More than 6,000 attendees have also registered their participation at the event.