S'pore plays host to high-profile conferences and industry shakers during F1 week

As Singapore returns to pre-Covid-19-pandemic normalcy, hundreds of chief executive officers, crypto investors and innovators and even a Bollywood star are descending on the Republic this week for a packed schedule of high-profile Mice events.

Leveraging on the return of the Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix F1 race from Friday to Sunday, this week sees the debut of several large-scale meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (Mice).

Among them is the inaugural edition of the Time100 Leadership Forum on Oct 2 at the National Gallery Singapore, which will feature speakers such as American billionaire and philanthropist Eric Schmidt and Ms Neo Gim Huay, the managing director of the Centre for Nature and Climate at the World Economic Forum.

It will be followed immediately by the Time100 Impact Awards, which is given to individuals for their extraordinary work to shape the future of their industries and the world.

This year's in-person recipients include Bollywood actress and producer Alia Bhatt; award-winning singer and actress Lea Salonga; and Mr Gregory L. Robinson, the former James Webb Space Telescope programme director at Nasa.

Singapore Tourism Board (STB) chief Keith Tan said: "Singapore is delighted to host this event, which honours the visionaries and leaders who are shaping the future of our world. It reflects our position as a global Asia node for business, and a vibrant city that is constantly evolving and innovating."

In August, STB said that close to 90,000 delegates are expected to attend around 25 Mice events timed around the F1 race. The number of events are similar to pre-Covid-19 levels, it noted.

Spurred by high demand to meet in person, some of these events also moved from Hong Kong to Singapore instead.

One of them, SuperReturn Asia - the region's leading private equity and venture capital conference - was held in Singapore from Sept 19 to 22, drawing a record 1,500 attendees, or almost double the pre-pandemic record of 800 attendees in 2019.

Singapore's position as a node for business is apparent with the arrival of another major newcomer.

This week marks the start of Asia Crypto Week, centred around crypto conference Token2049, which makes its Singapore debut. It will be held on Wednesday and Thursday.

In a press release on Monday, organisers said they are expecting record-breaking numbers of more than 7,000 attendees and more than 2,000 global companies, making it the crypto and bitcoin industry's largest and most well-attended event in years. The event will also be held in London in November.

The Singapore event's star-studded line-up at Marina Bay Sands includes F1 McLaren race driver Daniel Ricciardo, a brand ambassador for crypto trading app OKX; Mr Dan Morehead, founder and chief executive of digital currency investment firm Pantera Capital; and Hanson Robotics humanoid robot Sophia.

Token2049 founder Raphael Strauch said: "The continued interest in Token2049 Singapore is a testament to our industry's trajectory. I'm confident that this conference will go down as one of the most memorable ones in history and there's so much more to come with our upcoming London edition this November."

Further cementing Singapore's position as a centre for thought leadership, this week also sees a slate of returning, high-profile events, such as the 20th Forbes Global CEO Conference, and the ninth annual Milken Institute Asia Summit.

The two-day Forbes conference, which gathers some 400 prominent business leaders from around the world, is being held on Monday and Tuesday at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore.

It features a dialogue with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for FinanceLawrence Wong, as well as a keynote address by Indian tycoon Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group, and the world's third-richest person.

The three-day Milken Asia summit, to be held from Wednesday to Friday at the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, will tackle some of the negative consequences of humanity's progress, such as environmental degradation and economic inequalities.

More than 1,200 participants are expected this year.

Speakers include Malaysian Finance Minister Zafrul Aziz and Temasek's chief investment officer, Mr Rohit Sipahimalani.

"Asia is at the heart of the transformation that defines the global agenda," Ms Laura Deal Lacey, executive director of the Milken Institute Asia Center, noted previously.

"With our finger on the pulse, our efforts at the Milken Institute in Asia bring together leaders to share valuable insights and highlight critical conversations on issues affecting the region, which often have global implications."