WEF tempers upbeat business mood

DAVOS – Business and political leaders were gathering in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos for the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting yesterday, brimming with confidence about business prospects over the coming year.

However, the Forum’s traditional mix of public debates and cosy private meetings in the Swiss Alps was due to drive home a warning that governments and the corporate world cannot afford to be complacent about global challenges like climate change or development. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was to open the meeting later yesterday with a speech outlining her plans for the German presidency of the G8 group of industrialised nations this year.She will highlight climate change, financial security, and the need to revive the world trade talks, officials said.Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair was preparing to raise the issue of climate change and aid to Africa later in the Forum’s meeting, which is due to end on Sunday.Blair is due to line up alongside pop icon Bono, South African President Thabo Mbeki, Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to press home a message about “delivering on the promise of Africa” today.About 30 trade ministers are due to take part in a meeting with World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy on the sidelines of the Forum the next day.Lamy has urged them to try to sketch out a path ahead for deadlocked global trade talks, which are aimed at breaking down barriers to commerce in agriculture, industry and services largely to benefit developing nations.The mood among company executives, who account for about half of the annual meeting’s 2 400 participants, was decisively upbeat, partly due to forecasts of ongoing economic growth in 2007.Ninety-two per cent of 1 100 chief executives in 50 countries were confident about their company’s revenue growth in 2007, according to an annual survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers released yesterday.Just 40 per cent identified climate change as a potential obstacle to business growth.But the survey revealed divided attitudes between different parts of the world and signs that the issue was starting to bite, according to the auditing firm.Fifty-eight percent of chief executives in the Asia Pacific region pinpointed climate change as a business threat, yet just 18 per cent of their US counterparts felt the same way.Overall some 59 per cent did not feel concerned by global warming’s impact on their business, but a growing number of chief executives indicated that they were turning to public-private sector partnerships to mitigate climate change.An opinion poll for the Forum indicated that concern about climate change has risen sharply among business and political leaders who attend Davos.The annual “Voice of the Leaders” opinion poll by Gallup International found that they now rate environmental protection as the second most important priority after economic growth.Nampa-AFPGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel was to open the meeting later yesterday with a speech outlining her plans for the German presidency of the G8 group of industrialised nations this year.She will highlight climate change, financial security, and the need to revive the world trade talks, officials said.Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair was preparing to raise the issue of climate change and aid to Africa later in the Forum’s meeting, which is due to end on Sunday.Blair is due to line up alongside pop icon Bono, South African President Thabo Mbeki, Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to press home a message about “delivering on the promise of Africa” today.About 30 trade ministers are due to take part in a meeting with World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy on the sidelines of the Forum the next day.Lamy has urged them to try to sketch out a path ahead for deadlocked global trade talks, which are aimed at breaking down barriers to commerce in agriculture, industry and services largely to benefit developing nations.The mood among company executives, who account for about half of the annual meeting’s 2 400 participants, was decisively upbeat, partly due to forecasts of ongoing economic growth in 2007.Ninety-two per cent of 1 100 chief executives in 50 countries were confident about their company’s revenue growth in 2007, according to an annual survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers released yesterday.Just 40 per cent identified climate change as a potential obstacle to business growth.But the survey revealed divided attitudes between different parts of the world and signs that the issue was starting to bite, according to the auditing firm.Fifty-eight percent of chief executives in the Asia Pacific region pinpointed climate change as a business threat, yet just 18 per cent of their US counterparts felt the same way.Overall some 59 per cent did not feel concerned by global warming’s impact on their business, but a growing number of chief executives indicated that they were turning to public-private sector partnerships to mitigate climate change.An opinion poll for the Forum indicated that concern about climate change has risen sharply among business and political leaders who attend Davos.The annual “Voice of the Leaders” opinion poll by Gallup International found that they now rate environmental protection as the second most important priority after economic growth.Nampa-AFP