Proud to be part of this first edition of Investopia Europe, organized in Milan by EFG Consulting, an expert company in the internationalization of companies towards the Middle East together with the Ministry of Economy of the United Arab Emirates, which saw the participation of 350 Italian excellences in the economic and entrepreneurial sector.
Giovanni Bozzetti said: “Italy is the privileged gateway to Europe”
UAE Minister Al Marri said: “In Italy to encourage dialogue and opening up to new economies”
UAE Deputy Minister said: “Investing in Italy, a creative and productive economy”
Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said: “Resilient Italian companies. A large part of the increase in GDP is linked to exports”
The morning session was opened by greetings from Giovanni Bozzetti, President of EFG Consulting: “We are faced with new thrusts dictated by new technologies: through Investopia we hope to transform challenges into opportunities. The choice of Milan and Lombardy as Investopia’s first destination in Europe is further evidence of how Italy is a privileged gateway to Europe.”
Greetings from UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri: “Investopia is a platform that connects the investment community with new opportunities with the aim of creating a new industry. Investopia will be an ever-growing ecosystem to work on future opportunities and have a global reach: now we are arriving in Italy to foster dialogue with new economies.
The government of the Emirates is laying the foundations for a new economy: the planet is in a crucial phase and it will be important to invest in the right sectors to allow future generations to be able to prosper.” Then, the word to the Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanché: “The Emirates are certainly a very important state for Italian tourist flows. As a government we must invest even more in tourism, to make it the first industry in the nation. We should start more partnerships with the UAE so that investments can open up in our country, as we should do in theirs too. In the tourism sector we should change the paradigm: until now we looked at tourist flows in a quantitative way but today we have to focus on quality. So, a partnership with the Emirates can be interesting for having investments in accommodation facilities.”To which the Deputy Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates Abdulla Al Saleh echoes: “Our economy is characterized by the rapid reaction of the government in the face of changes. During the covid we witnessed a resilient economy that allowed us to cross the pandemic without major problems and even to grow. Investing in Italy is a good opportunity because it is a very creative economy. In fact, if we look at the latest developments also in the EU, Italian contributions enter every economic sector.”
The Secretary of the Dicastery for Integrated Human Development – Vatican Sr. Alessandra Smerilli concludes: “We need to move towards integral development, that is, to commit ourselves to every economic aspect. If we don’t change the way we do business, we will make nature ever more vulnerable. This could exacerbate already existing differences. The transformation to a more sustainable economy requires billions. The public budget will not be able to meet this challenge alone. The invitation is to work for financial practices that can represent cure, repair the damage, imitate nature even in the way it takes care of all of us, even in finance.”
The day opens with the first panel dedicated to “The new Family Business models”. In this period in Italy there is a rediscovery of family businesses. According to Giuseppe Fontana, President of the Fontana Group who has just signed an agreement with the Al Mazroui group in the Emirates for the construction of a bolt manufacturing plant in the Emirates, this depends “precisely because Italian companies have a heart.”
Adeeb Ahamed, Executive Director Lulu Financial Holdings: “One of the most profound similarities between Italy and the UAE is the family business community. Between 75%-80% of energy companies in the UAE are family-owned. Italy can provide a great example for our realities.”
Sergio Dompé, Executive Chairman of Dompé Farmaceutici: “Italian companies have a great capacity for resilience, but they present various critical issues such as entropy, not competing with international realities, and a slightly too partial assessment of the talents that can help the company grow.”
Guido Roberto Grassi Damiani, President Damiani: “Family companies are closely linked to the territory, they have a vision that is handed down from generation to generation, therefore in the very long term. Their big flaw is that they often don’t have a very entrepreneurial vision, but on the other hand they try with their plans to build something that surpasses themselves.”
Maurizio Tamagnini, CEO of FSI: “The family business alone makes acquisitions more difficult. Many of our Italian companies have been bought by foreign companies, which are growing a lot in terms of profit.”
At the end of the first part of the morning, the contribution of the President of the Lombardy Region Attilio Fontana: “The numbers show that the Lombardy Region is the one that is growing the most in Europe, thanks to the excellent entrepreneurial work. Relations with the Emirates are extremely positive, technological transfers that only improve the respective entrepreneurial worlds.”
The second part of the morning was opened by the Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti: “The data of the Italian economy continue to show a remarkable resilience starting from the encouraging data of this year’s GDP which, with a cyclical growth of 0.5 % and a forecast for the current year of 1.2% ranks among the highest values in Europe. A large part of this positive drive can be attributed precisely to exports and international investments which in 2021 also increased this European record by 83%. The Italian and UAE economies are characterized by strong complementarities: on these bases, a large flow of exchanges can be achieved.”
The day continues with the second panel: “New investment trends in the world of luxury”:
Francisco Carvalheira, President LAUREL (Associação Portuguesa de Marcas de Excelência): “it is very important to give value to local know-how in order to grow.”
Antonio De Matteis, President of Pitti Immagine and CEO of Kiton Group: “We started 20 years ago with a group of tailors and over the years we have rejuvenated, today we have an average of 36 years.”
Alfonso Dolce, CEO Dolce&Gabbana: “Our development is thanks to the relationships of local partners. Today the new opportunity is for families to work together with shared capital and thinking about the globalization of a local market.”
Niccolo’ Ricci, CEO Stefano Ricci: “We are a company devoted to exports. Dubai is an incredible square because visibility is very high. Sustainability and quality are our cornerstones. From the point of view of circularity, we need to focus on training, we need to pass on the trade.”
Gabriella Lojacono, Director Executive Master in EMILUX Luxury Management at SDA Bocconi: “In a pioneering way, we have decided to open up our students with the economy-culture of the Emirates, because they are interesting both from the point of view of commercial exchange and from an advanced point of view from a retail point of view. The gulf economy is worth about 5 billion.”
Salah Sharaf, President Emirates Logistics: “We are a very successful organization operating in 64 countries. If we look at logistics, we have a lot of robotics that comes from Italian companies. For us, the partnership and relationship with Italian companies is very important.”
Next panel of the day is “Investments for growth between responsibility and sustainability”.
Maurizio Dallocchio, Professor of Corporate Finance at SDA Bocconi: “Finance has been wrong on several fronts. Among the various rules imposed there is one that is too binding: the capital that is allocated to an entrepreneur must be linked to the risk. But that doesn’t allow everyone to be able to invest.”
Nicola Doninelli, Head of Distribution Platforms & GTB, IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Intesa Sanpaolo Division:
“We are in an easy context on the issue of sustainability, being a global agenda that is struggling to impose itself. The commitment of a bank in this context is absolutely necessary, as the public fails to respond.”
Massimo Gianolli, CEO Generalfinance: “Companies must have the time to organize themselves and be supported in the transition, so as not to create advance rules. It is good to think about such rules to make them adequate to obtain an adequate transition.”
Simona Grossi, CEO of Greenthesis Group: “It is important to have a collaboration with the stakeholders. Today, technological innovation is fundamental in a consumerist system like ours. Sustainability has many faces, but the goal is common: to find a way of consuming and producing that is sustainable for all of us.”
Sanjeev Gupta, President and CEO GFG Alliance: “Recycling is only part of the response to the climate crisis. We know that climate change is an ever-greater challenge. We have to rethink our paradigms, because the world has changed, and the solutions must be different.”
Lucia Leonessi, General Manager of Confindustria Cisambiente: “Italy is among the most technologically advanced on the environmental front: we have a great defect, that is to ‘feel sorry for ourselves’. I ask for help from the whole company: look at the waste recovery companies, which have enthusiasm and the ability to be sustainable.”
The day ends with the fourth thematic session: “Global trade: the new rules of the game”:
Alberto Banfi, Professor of Economics of Financial Intermediaries at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan: “If you want to proceed with internationalization, you must do so with chords. There is a big theme of multiculturalism. Certainly, the agreements allow you to internationalize, therefore understanding where you are going, and how to see and how to do.”
Matteo Lunelli, President of the Altagamma Foundation; President and CEO Cantine Lunelli: “common values are increasingly recognized in all sectors: together we are seeking and continuing to find opportunities for synergies and communication.”
Dylan Ratigan, Bloomberg TV and CNBC reporter: “The new rules are quite simple: when we have very large entities that have litigation, the best entity you can be is not to be one of them. You don’t want to be either USA, Russia or China. There are huge opportunities for those countries that can work without too many restrictions, you don’t have to be a big guy, but a small guy who works with the big ones.”
Alessandro Spada, President of Assolombarda: “Businesses are doing very well; this means that Italian companies are very strong and resilient. They invested a lot during the pandemic. We must try to invest more and more in new profiles.”
Matteo Zoppas, ITA President: “There is particular attention in the Emirates, where there has been an acceleration of economic exchanges between our country and them. Their interests, food and jewelry, the two main assets of trade that binds us with the Emirates. We hope the positive trends continue.”
The speech by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani concluded the whole day: “The strategic partnership between Italy and the United Arab Emirates is based on a common vision of growth, sustainable and inclusive growth. The Emirates are a strategic partner in Europe and for Italy: in 2022 exports exceeded two billion euros, making the Emirates our top export market in the region. The Emirates are also the first investors in Italy. The more than six hundred Italian companies operating in the emirates have spread the way of knowing how to do Italian business throughout the emirate territory.”
At the end of the meeting, the following were signed: a commercial agreement between Retail Logistics LLC (United Arab Emirates) and Samag Holding Logistics (Italy), an agreement between the UAE International Investors Council with EFG Consulting to identify investment opportunities in Europe and an insurance agreement. And the next agreement with UAE counterpart will be signed soon with Prof Paolo Catalfamo, who serves as Chairman of LifeStar Holding plc., a financial conglomerate listed on the Malta Stock Exchange. He is Chairman of LifeStar Insurance plc, Chairman of LifeStar Health Ltd and Chairman of GlobalCapital Financial Management ltd; all regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority.
