LEADING CEOS TO HEADLINE AT GSMA'S MOBILE ASIA CONGRESS -  New breed of advanced mobile services to take centre stage in Macau

22nd July 2008, Hong Kong: - Leading chief executives from the mobile industry will be joined by senior executives from the financial services sector at the GSMA's Mobile Asia Congress in Macau between November 18-20. The CEOs of China Mobile, the world's largest operator, NTT DOCOMO, Japan's largest operator, Bharti Airtel, India's largest operator, KTF and SKT, Korea’s largest operators, and the CEO of pan-Asia operator Telenor are among the keynote speakers confirmed so far.

They will be joined by Michael Prebenda, Global Head of HSBC Direct, Rupert Keeley, President of Visa Asia Pacific, and other top executives from the financial services industry. One day of the three-day conference will be dedicated to discussion of the fast-evolving markets for mobile advertising and for ‘mobile money’ encompassing services that enable consumers to use a handset to pay for goods and services in shops, restaurants and transport terminals, as well as services that enable the transfer of money over mobile networks.

Preceded by a board meeting of the GSMA, the global trade body for the mobile industry, the Congress provides a unique opportunity for Asia’s business community to discuss the most strategic issues facing the mobile sector. Among the themes for the keynote sessions: the restructuring of the Chinese telecoms industry, the booming Indian market, the new breed of services enabled by Mobile Broadband, the mobile Internet value chain and the future of mobile entertainment.

"Since the first Mobile Asia Congress in Macau in November 2007, there have been momentous changes, such as the restructuring of the Chinese telecoms industry and the rapid uptake of Mobile Broadband services, across this dynamic and fast-growing region," said Rob Conway, CEO and Member of the Board of the GSMA. "The leaders at the epicentre of these changes will be in Macau for this year’s Congress where they will set out their vision of how the rapid evolution of mobile technology can be best harnessed to the benefit of end-users.”

The GSMA is co-organising the Mobile Asia Congress 2008 at the Cotai Strip® CotaiExpo™ at The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel with China Mobile and China Unicom, China’s two largest mobile operators. Telenor, one of the largest pan-Asia operators, is a platinum sponsor of the event. The conference programme will be supported by an exhibition showcasing the very latest handsets, network equipment and services.

 

The GSMA last week called for entries to the Asia Mobile Awards 2008 and the Asia Pacific round of its Mobile Innovation Global Competition, both of which will culminate at the Mobile Asia Congress.

 

The Asia Mobile Awards are designed to showcase change driving products, services and initiatives from across the mobile industry eco-system that serves Asian markets. The Mobile Innovation Awards are designed for smaller and medium sized companies (with an annual turnover of less that €20 million) that are developing and delivering innovative mobile products, services and solutions. The deadline for both awards programmes is 30th September 2008.

 

 

Confirmed keynote speakers for the Mobile Asia Congress so far include:

 

-          Wang Jianzhou, Chairman and CEO, China Mobile

-          Ryuji Yamada, President & CEO, NTT docomo

-          Manoj Kohli, President & CEO, Bharti Airtel

-          Dr Young-chu Cho, President & CEO, KTF

-          Shin Bae Kim, CEO, SKT

-          Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO, Telenor Group

-          Michael Prebenda, Global Head, HSBC Direct

-          Rupert Keeley, Global Head, Asia Pacific Region, Visa Inc.

http://www.mobileasiacongress.com

About the GSMA:

The GSM Association (GSMA) is the global trade association representing more than 750 GSM mobile phone operators across 218 countries and territories of the world. The Association's members represent more than 3 billion GSM and 3GSM connections - over 86% of the world's mobile phone connections. In addition, more than 200 manufacturers and suppliers support the Association's initiatives as key partners.