Policymakers and Financial Leaders Convene at Point Zero Forum on Generative AI, Digital Assets, and ESG Technologies

The Swiss State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) and Elevandi, a company set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) just announced the agenda for the second edition of the Point Zero Forum. The by-invitation only Forum will take place from 26 to 28 June 2023 in Zurich, Switzerland, and will be jointly opened by Switzerland’s Federal Councillor and the Head of the Federal Department of Finance, Karin Keller-Sutter and Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Heng Swee Keat.

The Forum will convene 1,000 policymakers, financial leaders, and investors for dialogues on three innovative technologies shaping the future of financial services.

• Digital Assets — Stocktake on the use cases for adopting digital assets, asset tokenisation and distributed ledger technology
• ESG Technologies — Showcasing the technologies and solutions that can accelerate the fair transition towards climate neutrality
• Generative AI — Deep-dive into generative AI (Artificial Intelligence), the potential use cases in financial services and the roadmap towards adoption

The need to convene the key leaders has hardly ever been greater. The Forum’s agenda was established against a backdrop of significant uncertainty in the digital assets industry resulting from various factors; including market volatility, regulatory uncertainty, and a lack of public trust. Additionally, the world is confronted by two powerful disruptive forces: the rapid advancement of technologies like AI, which has exploded in popularity since the introduction of ChatGPT — now with an estimated 100 million monthly active users in January; and the pressing issue of the climate crisis, which is predicted to necessitate the largest reallocation of capital since World War II, coupled with a massive influx of financial innovation.

Daniela Stoffel, Secretary of State for International Finance, Swiss Federal Department of Finance, said: “Recent market dislocations have shown the importance of good regulation and supervision. At the same time, the potential of digital innovation in finance is tremendous. The upcoming Forum in Zurich will bring together all stakeholders and identify concrete ways in which technological innovation can help achieve the UN’s sustainability goals while strengthening the competitiveness of the financial sector.”

Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of MAS and Chairman of Elevandi Board, commented: “Recent market headwinds and tailwinds have significantly impacted the three technology areas fundamentally driving the future of financial services: AI, Digital Assets, and ESG Tech. In light of this, the Point Zero Forum is taking a proactive approach by hosting a dialogue between policymakers and the proponents of these technologies to identify responsible, use-case-driven pathways for their adoption. The outcomes from the dialogues will help serve as a roadmap for navigating these technologies, and we will continue the progress made at the Forum when we reconvene at the Singapore FinTech Festival in November.”

Agenda

The first two days will feature:

• High-level dialogues with public and private sector leaders on the Forum Stage
• The Capital Meets Policy Dialogue, an investor dialogue with policymakers, regulators, and investors to share perspectives on FinTech regulation and investment capital allocation
• In-depth roundtable discussions with public and private sector organisations to address challenges faced by the financial sector to deliver key outcomes, such as pledges or commitments that will be announced in published statements after the event
• Industry workshops and networking opportunities

The final day includes innovation tours, which allow participants to visit leading companies and innovation labs to experience their latest cutting-edge projects and developments. Participants include Google, BIS Innovation Hub, and the University of Zurich Blockchain Center.

About the State Secretariat for International Finance

The State Secretariat for International Finance represents Switzerland’s interests in financial, monetary and tax matters not only vis-à-vis partner countries but also in the competent international bodies. It is committed to good framework conditions to ensure that Switzerland can have an innovative, interconnected and sustainable financial centre and business location that is among the world leaders. The State Secretariat is responsible for implementing the financial market policy of the Swiss Government.

About Elevandi

Elevandi is set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to foster an open dialogue between the public and private sectors to advance FinTech in the digital economy. Elevandi works closely with governments, founders, investors, and corporate leaders to drive collaboration, education, and new sources of value at industry and national levels. Elevandi’s initiatives have convened over 350,000 people to drive the growth of FinTech through events, closed-door roundtables, investor programmes, educational initiatives, and research. Elevandi’s flagship product is the Singapore FinTech Festival alongside fast-rising platforms, including the World FinTech Festival, Point Zero Forum, Elevandi Insights Forum, The Capital Meets Policy Dialogue, and the Inclusive FinTech Forum.

About the Point Zero Forum

Point Zero Forum is a by-invitation only regulatory-technology dialogue that seeks to advance the financial services sector in a safe and sustainable way. The Point Zero Forum is organised in cooperation with the BIS Innovation Hub, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and the Swiss National Bank (SNB). Last year’s inaugural Forum, held from 21-23 June 2022 in Zurich, Switzerland, attracted over 1,000 senior-level attendees, including numerous founders, investors, and policymakers, and featured more than 200 esteemed speakers from Europe, Asia-Pacific, the USA, and MENA.

Photo by Henrique Ferreira on Unsplash

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