GUANGZHOU, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Time Inc. (NYSE:TIME) will host the 2017 Fortune Global Forum in Guangzhou, China, it was announced today by Time Inc. Chief Content Officer and Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alan Murray at a press conference in Guangzhou. The event will be the fifth Fortune Global Forum held in China.
“Guangzhou, China’s Southern gateway to the world, is the ideal location for the 2017 Fortune Global Forum. As a center of international trade for many centuries, Guangzhou is both a renowned symbol and a modern manifestation of China’s participation in global commerce,” Murray said in his announcement. “At a time when globalization is under attack, we believe the Guangzhou forum will be a powerful demonstration of the importance of global commerce and the profound change that technology is bringing to global business."
The Fortune Global Forum will create a valuable opportunity for the CEOs of the world’s biggest multinational companies—the Fortune Global 500—to actively engage with China and its leaders from both business and government. The meeting will be held in late November or early December, 2017.
In making the selection, Fortune cited Guangzhou’s reputation as a business-friendly city, one that has established economic and trade relationships with more than 200 countries and regions on five continents. Guangzhou has announced significant new initiatives to facilitate investment promotion and business development, building on its history as an international center of trade. According to the city's 13th five-year development plan, which covers 2016-2020, Guangzhou will establish hubs for international shipping, international aviation, international science and technology innovation by 2020. More than half the Fortune Global 500 companies have already made investments in or set up operations in Guangzhou, with potential for continued expansion.
Fortune also noted that as the capital city of Guangdong Province, now China’s most populous province, Guangzhou is an attractive destination for multinational companies. Other factors include Guangzhou’s strategic position on the Maritime Silk Road and its participation in the Guangdong Free Trade Zone, which is of special interest to companies in many fields, including finance, shipping, high tech, manufacturing and logistics.
Another driver in the selection of Guangzhou for the Fortune Global Forum is its position as the biggest city and largest port in the Pearl River Delta. A 2015 World Bank Group report found that the Pearl River Delta has overtaken Tokyo to become the world’s largest urban area in both size and population. More people live in the region than the countries of Argentina, Australia, Canada and Malaysia. The area has been characterized as an epicenter of the Chinese boom.
Cai Chaolin, Vice Mayor of the People's Government of Guangzhou Municipality, said “Choosing our city to host the 2017 Fortune Global Forum is a recognition of Guangzhou's distinctive progress and promise as a hub of globalization and international exchanges. We will work closely with Fortune to make the Fortune Global Forum 2017 a perfect platform for brainstorming ideas and for developing mutually beneficial partnerships and cooperation.”
Since 1995, the Fortune Global Forum has convened world leaders and the heads of global business—the chairmen, presidents and CEOs of the world’s largest companies—on the dynamic frontiers of international commerce. Participation in the Fortune Global Forum is by invitation only and expected guests will include multinational CEOs and the heads of China’s most important companies, along with world leaders. Participants in previous Global Forums have included former PRC Presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, Vice Premiers Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli; former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush; and company chairmen Jamie Dimon of J.P. Morgan Chase, Ginni Rometty of IBM, Victor Fung of Li & Fung Ltd., Robert Iger of The Walt Disney Company, Chanda Kochhar of ICICI Bank, Yang Yuanqing of Lenovo, Ma Yun of Alibaba, Frederick W. Smith of FedEx, Zhang Ruimin of Haier and Robin Li of Baidu.
In a congratulatory message read at the opening dinner at the 2013 Fortune Global Forum, which was held in Chengdu, President Xi Jinping called the event “one of the most influential forums on economic development in the world.” A press release issued at the time by the government of Sichuan Province announced that Chengdu signed 74 investment projects during the 2013 Forum with Fortune Global 500 companies from both China and around the world, with a total investment of 112 billion yuan (US $18.3 billion).
Fortune is a global leader in business journalism with major franchises that include the Fortune 500 and the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. The Global Forum is one of the signature live events produced annually by Fortune Live Media, including Fortune Most Powerful Women, Fortune Brainstorm Tech and Fortune MPW Next Gen. Time Inc. is a global leader in live media with some of the world’s most prestigious brand events, including the Food & Wine Classic, Essence Festival, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, Time 100 Gala and many more. Since becoming a public company in 2014, Time Inc. has significantly expanded its brands further into the live events business and acquired INVNT, a global brand communications agency. In the past year, Time Inc. has launched Entertainment Weekly PopFest, the InStyle Awards and Fortune Brainstorm Health, among others. Fortune magazine is available worldwide, and Fortune also publishes national editions in China, Turkey, Korea, India and Greece.
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