2026 Speakers
2026 Distinguished Speakers
Neil Parekh
Deputy Chairman, Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN); Vice Chairman, Asia Pacific, SMBC & Former Nominated Member of Parliament, Singapore
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)
Neil serves as the Group Deputy Chairman and Board Director at the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN). He is also Vice Chairman, Asia Pacific for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) Group. Until recently, he was Partner and Head of Asia and Australia at Tikehau Capital. He previously held the position of CEO, Asia at National Australia Bank.
Neil is a Council Member of the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Institute of Directors and serves as an Advisory Board Member of the James Cook University, Singapore, and the Singapore Fintech Association. He also serves as a Senior Adviser to the Atlantic Council in Washington DC. and is a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Directors as well as the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is also the Chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
He served as a Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore from 2023 to 2025. He has also served on the Governing Council of the Association of Banks in Singapore and as Chief Executive Officer of Pegasus Asia, a company listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
Speaking at
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11:50am–12:20pmTue 24 MarSummit StageWinthrop HallOpen
Securing the Future
The Long Game in the Indo-Pacific - Engineering Conviction in the World’s Most Compelling Investment Region
Summit StageWinthrop HallOpen
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Neil ParekhDeputy Chairman, Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN); Vice Chairman, Asia Pacific, SMBC & Former Nominated Member of Parliament, SingaporeSumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)
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Prof. David Lee Kuo ChuenChairmanGlobal Fintech InstituteModerator
About this session
The Indo-Pacific's most consequential opportunities reward the fastest movers and embedded patience in their very structure. With young demographics, maturing capital markets, and digital infrastructure still forming, this is one of the most compelling investment theses of the coming decades - but the returns will accrue to those who entered during formation and stayed. This conversation explores what it actually takes to engineer long-term growth.
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