SPH Media’s forward-looking Asia Future Summit gathers top thought leaders at international forum
SPH Media’s Asia Future Summit 2023 brought together a distinguished line-up of more than 20 local and international speakers to share and shape perspectives on key issues such as geopolitics, business, and economy.
The conference was themed “Revisiting Lee Kuan Yew’s View of the World: Looking ahead to Singapore and Asia’s future amid turbulent times,” in commemoration of the birth centenary of Singapore’s founding prime minister.
Speakers included Singapore’s political leaders Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Mr Teo Chee Hean, and Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Mr Heng Swee Keat, alongside international figures such as former Australian Prime Minister Mr John Howard and Founder & Chairman, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, Mr Ma Ying-jeou.
The bilingual summit marks the first time that SPH Media organised a cross-title conference. A collaboration driven by Singapore’s leading news titles — The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao and The Business Times – the event took place over two days on 4 and 5 October at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore.
Among 300 or so in attendance at the summit were esteemed delegates including Mr Ng Boon Heong, CEO of Temasek Foundation, Mr Choi Shing Kweok, CEO of ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute, Ms Helen Wong, Group CEO of OCBC Bank, and more than 20 representatives from various embassies.
Effective industry positioning
Asia Future Summit 2023 was presented by OCBC and OCBC Premier Banking, with Guocoland and Kingsford Group as the event patrons.
The event provided an invaluable positioning for sponsors, with editorial coverage across the three titles prior to, during, and after the event, both on print and online.
Media exposure was further amplified through content pages on The Straits Times, The Business Times, and Lianhe Zaobao. To complement the event, The Straits Times also produced a limited print-run magazine that explored the future of Asia.
Sponsors also received logo credit and acknowledgment on-site, and in relevant event marketing materials.
At the event, presenting sponsor OCBC’s Group CEO, Ms Helen Wong, was a panellist in a session focusing on business & economy. The bank was able to extend exclusive invitations to their Premier Banking customers and also had a booth activation to showcase their offerings to the high-profile attendees.
Mr Sunny Quek, Head of Global Consumer Financial Services, OCBC said: "We are glad we could partner SPH Media and work on the Asia Future Summit together this year. We sought to drive the visibility of our OCBC and Premier Banking brands through extensive SPH editorial coverage and on-site branding, as well as engage our OCBC Premier clients with exclusive networking opportunities. We are happy to report that we managed to achieve both goals, thanks to a well-organised programme and impressive line-up of speakers. We look forward to working with SPH Media on other events in time to come."
Insightful conversations among notable speakers
A total of 11 sessions covering key topics of Geopolitics, Business & Economy, and Society took place over the 2-day event, majority of which were moderated by senior editors of The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, and The Business Times.
In the summit’s opening address, Mr Teo Chee Hean shared some guideposts for Singapore to secure its place in a tumultuous and uncertain world. This was followed by his dialogue with The Straits Times editor Mr Jaime Ho, where Mr Teo shared insights on Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s succession planning.
Ms Lee Huay Leng, editor-in-chief of SPH Media’s Chinese Media Group (CMG), moderated a bilingual panel to discuss Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s contributions to the development of Asia and global relations. The speakers in her panel were Mr Heng Swee Keat, Mr John Howard and Mr Ma Ying-jeou, who all shared personal stories and lessons from Mr Lee’s legacy in Singapore and around the world.
Lively discussions from respected speakers provided the event’s attendees and the titles’ audiences with key takeaways and insights on pertinent topics such as finding balance amid geopolitical tensions, the implications of the shifting balance of power in Asia for regional diplomacy and security, as well as how to stay nimble amid economic uncertainties and seize the next bound of growth in Asia.
The event’s Guest-of-Honour, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, delivered the conference’s closing address, and sat down with Mr Wong Wei Kong, editor-in-chief of SPH Media’s English, Malay and Tamil Media (EMTM) Group, for an interactive dialogue with delegates on issues such as China’s relationship with countries in Asia and the Asean.
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