Peres `Hijacked' Gulf Finance Gathering, Davos Diners Say
By Stephen Voss
Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Israeli Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres upset central bankers and Middle East investors with an impromptu speech on the Palestine conflict at a World Economic Forum discussion today, leaving a wake of disgruntled diners.
Peres, 83, was a surprise participant at a lunchtime discussion on ``The Gulf States as an Emerging Financial Hub'' in the Swiss resort of Davos. Asked for his views on the topic, he instead gave a lengthy description of the difficulties in achieving peace between Israel and Palestine, then promptly left.
``Our discussion has been hijacked,'' said one participant, Kamel Lazaar, president and chief executive of Swicorp, a Middle East corporate advisory firm. ``To come here and lecture us in a one-sided manner is not appropriate.''
Lazaar, whose company has offices in Riyadh and Geneva, agreed to be quoted. His views were echoed by others at the closed-door lunch.
The finance discussion, once resumed, highlighted concern over what participants called an abundance of small-sized banks in the Middle East and a disparity between the gulf region's volatile stock markets and relatively stable financial institutions.
The two dozen or so participants in the session were mostly from Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Panelists included Dubai International Capital LLC Chief Executive Sameer al-Ansari, National Bank of Kuwait Chief Executive Ibrahim Dabdoub, Bahrain Central Bank Governor Rasheed al-Maraj and bankers from Credit Suisse Group and UBS AG.
The World Economic Forum, whose central slogan is to be ``Committed to Improving The State of World,'' is holding its annual five-day meeting this week. Of its 2,400 participants, 800 are chief executives and chairmen, according to the forum.