DANVERS, Mass., (8/7/14) – As interest in agriculture as an emerging investment class heats up around the globe, the fourth annual Global AgInvesting (GAI) Asia conference returns to the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, September 23-25, bringing substantive industry knowledge and new perspectives to a region where the pace of investments in the food and beverage sectors has picked up dramatically within the last 12 months, particularly in China.
GAI Asia is the largest gathering of agriculture investment stakeholders in the region, attracting allocators, farm and fund managers and agribusiness executives. New panel discussions have been added for 2014, including a discussion on investment opportunities in tropical soft commodities, including palm oil, cocoa, coffee and tea, which will be moderated by Jeanne Stampe, Asia commodities and finance specialist with the World Wildlife Fund. This panel will address the risk/return profiles of these commodities, which countries present the most favorable conditions for foreign investment, and how certification schemes such as Fair Trade can play a role in investment decisions.
Program additions for this year also include discussion on investment strategies in permanent crops such as tree nuts, orchard fruits and wine grapes, and downstream opportunities in transportation, logistics, processing and storage. Additionally, an exciting case study on the growth of venture capital investments in agriculture technology advancements will be presented.
The GAI Asia agenda provides a comprehensive overview of the sector, including a strong focus on the role that allocations to agriculture can play in the institutional portfolio and which strategies are likely to generate the highest returns, ensuring that attendees walk away with a clear idea of where the real money is moving in the space. Critical panel discussions on risk/return profiles of major global production regions, including Asia, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and the Americas, will address questions such as:
• Which Asian countries present attractive opportunities for investment in terms of risk (political, social, financial and environmental)?
• What types of investment vehicles provide attractive options for exposure to the ag sector in both Australia and New Zealand?
• How are managers in Africa addressing issues concerning integration of smallholder farmers with large-scale production agriculture?
• What are the particular risks associated with individual countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (current political strife, title, logistics, etc.) and how can managers address these risks?
• What are the risk implications for agricultural production of the aging farmer population?
“Returning to this regional trading hub of Singapore to discuss how to efficiently allocate capital required for expanding agriculture production will provide investors with useful perspectives on financial, trade policy and operational challenges and opportunities in the food and agricultural sectors,” said Philippe de Lapérouse, event chair and managing director from HighQuest Group, the ag event, media and consulting firm that hosts the conference.
GAI Asia will once again offer a two-and-a-half day format that includes the popular Short Course in Ag Fundamentals on Monday, September 23. Over 75 international experts on the GAI speaking faculty will provide myriad of sector knowledge to the more than 300 attendees who are expected at the event. Learn more at www.globalaginvesting.com.
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HighQuest Group, headquartered in Danvers, Mass., is a globally recognized strategic consulting practice and conference company serving the agriculture, agribusiness, grains/oilseed, food, and biofuels markets.
The company, founded in 2000, hosts the Global AgInvesting conference series (New York, Singapore, London, Dubai), the Oilseed & Grain Trade Summit and Women in Agribusiness Summit series, and publishes the annual Soya & Oilseed Bluebook, the leading industry oilseed and agribusiness directory. www.highquestgroup.com.
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