EBRD conference: Reinvigorating Growth, Competitiveness and Investment - The EU from the Baltics, through Central Europe, to the Mediterranean

The Vigadó - Conference venue 

Marriott Budapest Hotel - Reception venue 

High level panel: Reinvigorating Growth, Competitiveness and Investment (Ceremonial Hall)

The panel will center around the main growth challenges that the region faces over the next decade. These include the unfavourable demography, insufficient innovation and the slow progress towards a single energy market in Europe. The distinguished panellists will offer their views on how best to tackle these challenges and achieve pre-Eurozone crisis rates of economic growth. The panel will be moderated by Simeon Djankov, Executive Director of the Financial Markets Group at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Panellists:

• Rosen Plevneliev, President of Bulgaria
• Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice President of the European Commission 
• Suma Chakrabarti, President of the EBRD

Moderator:

• Simeon Djankov, Executive Director of the Financial Markets Group at the London School of Economics and Political Science

Working languages:

English - Hungarian

Background paper for the panel on "Reinvigorating Growth, Competitiveness and Investment" by Simeon Djankov

Finance: Equity as a Source for Financing Growth (Ceremonial Hall)

Economic growth needs funding. In an environment where liquidity is plentiful but banks are risk averse, equity is playing an increasingly important role in spurring market development.  In this session, we will be exploring what it takes to boost and attract equity investments, examining the role of private and public equity, and assessing the needs and requirements of investors. We will hear what the key ingredients of successful equity capital markets are, and discuss what is needed to unleash their full potential.

As the single largest private equity fund investor in the region, the EBRD will bring together investors and institutions to assess the growth challenges facing the markets of central and south-eastern Europe.

Panellists

• Ivana Gažić, President of Management Board of Zagreb Stock Exchange
• Roland Manger, Founder and Managing Partner, Earlybird Venture Capital
• Robert Manz, Managing Partner, Enterprise Investors
• Márton Nagy, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Hungary
• Alain Pilloux, EBRD Acting Vice President Policy and Partnerships, Vice President Designate, Banking

   

Moderator:

• Radován Jelasity, Chief Executive Officer, Erste Bank Hungary

Working language:

English

Green Economy Transition and Growth (Sinkovits Theatre)

Investment in green technologies and solutions has increased significantly in the last decade. These investments are laying the foundations for a new economic model that not only delivers growth and jobs, but does so while protecting the environment and reducing emissions.

There is a risk that several countries in Central Europe are missing out on this opportunity. Financial flows in this area have been lagging behind other emerging regions of the world.

In this session we will explore how green investments and structural transformation towards a green economy can be a source of stronger growth and job opportunities in this region. With high dependence on fossil fuels and low resource efficiency, COP-21 commitments imply particularly large opportunities.

The EBRD has considerable experience in climate finance. This discussion will look at what the Bank has learned in stimulating private and public investment through its operations and support for policy reform.

Panellists:

• Robert Abramowski, Ministry of Development, Republic of Poland
• Maria van der Hoeven, Commissioner, The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate
• Peter Kaderjak, Member of the Board of Appeal, Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators
• Christoph Schoefboeck, CEO, Erste Bank, Croatia
• Lee Timmins, Senior Managing Director & CEO Hines Eurasia Region

Moderator:

• Mattia Romani, EBRD Managing Director for Economics, Policy and Governance

Working language:

English

Infrastructure (Sinkovits Theatre)

From the G20 to the IFIs and the EU, the world has reached a consensus that greater infrastructure investment is needed to boost economic growth.  This is achieved through enhanced productivity and improved competiveness coupled with deeper levels of private sector and institutional investment. However, experience shows that the benefits from infrastructure investment will not materialise in full unless the right projects are selected, prepared and delivered efficiently. 

What can be done to deliver more and deliver better?  What can be done to improve pipeline preparation?  How can governments in the region better position themselves to leverage more private sector capital into infrastructure investment?

This panel will explore these issues, featuring key private and public sector actors involved in helping governments to develop the pipeline and invest in critical infrastructure.

Panellists

• Benjamin Angel, Director for the Treasury and Financial Operations, European Commission
• Julia Prescot, Chief Strategy Officer, Meridiam
• James Stewart, Chairman, Global Infrastructure, KPMG

Moderator:

Matthew Jordan-Tank, EBRD Head of Infrastructure Policy and Project Preparation

Working language:

English

Innovation and Productivity Growth (Ceremonial Hall)

Long-term economic growth depends crucially on the innovative capacity of economies. In countries close to the technological frontier, innovation mostly takes the form of firms inventing new products and technologies. In countries further from the frontier, firms can catch up by simply adopting and adapting technologies that have been developed elsewhere. This session will discuss how EU countries can reignite growth by fostering both frontier and adoptive innovation. A special emphasis will be placed on the role that governments should play. Are they passive facilitators or is there room for a more active involvement? And if so, which conditions need for these more pro-active (industrial) policies to pay off?

Panellists

• Chiara Criscuolo, Head, Structural Policy Unit, Science, Technology & Industry Directorate, OECD
• Sergei Guriev, EBRD Chief Economist
• Prof. Yesha Sivan, Executive Director, The Coller Institute of Venture, Tel Aviv University; founder of Metaverse Labs

Moderator:

• Larry Sherwin, EBRD Deputy Director, Communications

Working language:

English

Growth and Inclusion – Lessons from 25 Years of Transition (Ceremonial Hall)

This panel discussion will summarise and assess the findings from the latest EBRD Transition Report. The report shows that some transition countries have managed to deliver growth with broadly shared gains while in others growth benefits accrued to a relatively narrow part of society. These traumatic experiences have long-term implications for well-being and social capital. EBRD Chief Economist Sergei Guriev will also discuss findings from the conference panels as well as the growth and inequality challenges in the region. He will be joined by Mihály Varga, Hungarian Minister of the National Economy and former Minister of Finance.

Working language:

English-Hungarian

For more information please contact: BudapestConference@ebrd.com

For media queries, please write to press@ebrd.com

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