HE Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, Governor of DIFC to speak tomorrow at FT/DIFC World Financial Centres Summit in London

HE Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, Governor, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Vice Chairman of the Central Bank of the UAE, will speak at the second FT/DIFC World Financial Centres Summit taking place in London on October 20 and 21, 2008. The focus of His Excellency's address to the Summit will be the factors driving change in the economy.

The Summit, organised by the Financial Times in partnership with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), brings together senior financial executives, corporate decision-makers and regulatory and government officials to discuss the current re-appraisal of risk, opportunity and strategic interest, and the impact on financial centres around the world.

Building on the success of the inaugural event in Dubai in November 2007, the conference - to be held at Gibson Hall near the Bank of England -- will be one of the year's most important high-level gatherings of policy-makers and strategists, at a time when the world financial system and its key intermediaries are undergoing significant change.

HE Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman will be joined at the Summit by global financial leaders such as Stephen Green, Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings; Terrence Checki, Executive Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Zhu Min, Group Executive Vice President, Bank of China; Stephen Pagliuca, Managing Director, Bain Capital; Norbert Walter, Chief Economist, Deutsche Bank Group; and Gerard Lyons, Chief Economist and Group Head of Global Research, Standard Chartered.

The Summit comes at a time when the sub-prime crisis and its aftermath are sending shockwaves through financial markets transforming the landscape for financial institutions around the world.

His Excellency Dr Omar Bin Sulaiman said: "The Summit is an opportunity to discuss the various forces driving the creation of a new global economic structure. The last few years have seen remarkable changes in global capital flows. China, other leading Asian economies and Gulf countries have become net exporters of capital. The effects of the financial crisis in the West are opening up opportunities for the GCC region that weren't available earlier. The Summit will generate several insights into the opportunities and challenges these economic changes are bringing."

Themes for discussion at the Summit include a new balance for world capital flows; the future of global financial centres; the challenges to the world financial system; the race for talent; the regulatory system; and new strategies for investment banks and private equity.

The annual FT/DIFC World Financial Centre Summits bring together some of the biggest names in international finance to discuss the challenges facing the world's developed and emerging financial hubs.