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Good morning ladies and gentlemen, 

 

Welcome to the 10th Seoul International Derivatives & Alternative Investments Conference. It is great to

see so many enthusiastic men and women here contemplating the present and the future of derivatives

and the potential role of alternative investments at the time of extremely volatile market environment.

 

The Financial News is pleased to host this conference where we will have the opportunity to meet the

best speakers and panelists the local business community has ever had. I’d like to acknowledge those

who have traveled from quite a distance, from not only Hong Kong or Singapore but New York, San

​Francisco or even London, to participate in the best conference in Asia. I urge you, local folks, to meet

with as many foreign participants as possible and build up your own network with them.

 

Today, we are very lucky to have Geert Rouwenhorst, Chaired Professor of Yale School of Management,

as the first keynote speaker. I suppose he will share with us his insights on the global commodities

markets, andfurther suggest thoughtful use of commodities in investors’ portfolios.

 

Tomorrow, Bob Swarup, a respected expert and commentator on financial markets and alternatives will

start off with a definition of what a financial crisis is and how it has created tremendous uncertainty around

the world. He will then discuss how this implies a more dynamic approach to managing risk and capital,

which naturally leads to a discussion of asset classes including alternatives.

 

We have great topics to discuss, planned for each day of the conference. We will begin today with the

first session focusing on the regulatory evolution to curb some of excesses found in the derivatives

markets. During the second session in the afternoon, we will find out whether transaction taxes on

derivative trades could be an effective tool for the purpose.

 

Tomorrow, a half-day session will be solely devoted to alternative investments. We are looking forward to

a longer period of minimal growth, but that doesn’t mean there are no investing opportunities. Speakers

and panelists will hopefully show us the way to take advantage of using alternative investments in our

portfolios.

 

Please consult your conference brochure shown in your i-pad for specific sessions. Among the activities

we have planned are separate luncheons & dinner for those foreign participants, which will be guided by

our staff at each occasion. Pensions and local asset managers will attend them as well.

 

Special thanks should go to our valuable sponsors. Without their participation and contribution, we couldn’t

even think of this big and beautiful conference.

 

To all of you, thank you for being here, welcome, and enjoy the conference!

 

 

Seong C. Gweon, Ph.D.

President & CEO,

The Financial News