Istanbul set to host top-level finance meeting

The Istanbul Finance Summit (IFS) set to be held in Istanbul late this month will feature some of the most important figures of the global financial world from North America, Europe, the Gulf region and East Asia. The first IFS on Sept 28-30 will be inaugurated at the prime ministerial level and will bring together top leaders in the banking, corporate finance and project finance sectors as speakers. The IFS is designed to provide an annual platform for discussion of the current state and future directions throughout the world, Dr. Murat Yulek, who heads IFS' advisory board, said at a press conference yesterday. "With the devastating effects of the global crisis, well-known world financial centers such as London have started to lose their power and dynamism," he added. As such, new cities such as Paris, Shanghai and Istanbul are vying to become new financial centers, he said. "For example Davos, a small town in Switzerland, has managed to attract world leaders, opinion makers, and top economists every year. I believe that Istanbul, with its long history as one of the most attractive centers of trade and economy, could be the world's new financial center." He added, "The IFS could turn into the new global meeting for discussion of world financial issues." Among top figures set to speak at the event are Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, Brazilian Central Bank Deputy Governor Luiz Awazu Pereira da Silva, Germany Federal Financial Supervisory Authority President Jochen Sanio, and Yale University economist Robert Shiller.