Zurich: The Swiss State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) and Elevandi, a company set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced the agenda for the second edition of the Point Zero Forum. The by-invitation only Forum will take place from 26 to 28 June 2023 in Zurich, Switzerland, and will be jointly opened by Switzerland's Federal Councillor and the Head of the Federal Department of Finance, Karin Keller-Sutter and Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Heng Swee Keat.

The Forum will convene 1,000 policymakers, financial leaders, and investors for dialogues on three innovative technologies shaping the future of financial services.

● Digital Assets — Stocktake on the use cases for adopting digital assets, asset tokenisation and distributed ledger technology

● ESG Technologies — Showcasing the technologies and solutions that can accelerate the fair transition towards climate neutrality

● Generative AI — Deep-dive into generative AI (Artificial Intelligence), the potential use cases in financial services and the roadmap towards adoption

The need to convene the key leaders has hardly ever been greater. The Forum’s agenda was established against a backdrop of significant uncertainty in the digital assets industry resulting from various factors; including market volatility, regulatory uncertainty, and a lack of public trust. Additionally, the world is confronted by two powerful disruptive forces: the rapid advancement of technologies like AI, which has exploded in popularity since the introduction of ChatGPT — now with an estimated 100 million monthly active users in January[1]; and the pressing issue of the climate crisis, which is predicted to necessitate the largest reallocation of capital since World War II, coupled with a massive influx of financial innovation.[2]

Daniela Stoffel, Secretary of State for International Finance, Swiss Federal Department of Finance, said: “Recent market dislocations have shown the importance of good regulation and supervision. At the same time, the potential of digital innovation in finance is tremendous. The upcoming Forum in Zurich will bring together all stakeholders and identify concrete ways in which technological innovation can help achieve the UN's sustainability goals while strengthening the competitiveness of the financial sector.”

Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of MAS and Chairman of Elevandi Board, commented: “Recent market headwinds and tailwinds have significantly impacted the three technology areas fundamentally driving the future of financial services: AI, Digital Assets, and ESG Tech. In light of this, the Point Zero Forum is taking a proactive approach by hosting a dialogue between policymakers and the proponents of these technologies to identify responsible, use-case-driven pathways for their adoption. The outcomes from the dialogues will help serve as a roadmap for navigating these technologies, and we will continue the progress made at the Forum when we reconvene at the Singapore FinTech Festival in November.”

Agenda

The first two days will feature:

● High-level dialogues with public and private sector leaders on the Forum Stage

● The Capital Meets Policy Dialogue, an investor dialogue with policymakers, regulators, and investors to share perspectives on FinTech regulation and investment capital allocation

● In-depth roundtable discussions with public and private sector organisations to address challenges faced by the financial sector to deliver key outcomes, such as pledges or commitments that will be announced in published statements after the event

● Industry workshops and networking opportunities

The final day includes innovation tours, which allow participants to visit leading companies and innovation labs to experience their latest cutting-edge projects and developments. Participants include Google, BIS Innovation Hub, and the University of Zurich Blockchain Center.

To register your interest in attending the Point Zero Forum or to nominate a guest, please visit www.pointzeroforum.com.

[1] A UBS study, 2 February 2023, The report, citing data from analytics firm Similarweb, also said an average of about 13 million unique visitors had used ChatGPT per day in January, more than double the levels of December.

[2] McKinsey, 18 January 2023. “Singapore FinTech Festival 2022 Insights: Enlisting FinTech To Help Create A Sustainable Future.” https://www.elevandi.io/report/sff-2022-insights-enlisting-fintech-to-help-create-a-sustainable-future/