What is Davos?
Davos is a municipality in the district of Prattigau/Davos in the canton of Graubunden, Switzerland.
Davos is host to the World Economic Forum (WEF), an annual meeting of global political and business elites (often referred to simply as Davos) and the home of one of Switzerland's biggest ski resorts.
What is World Economic Forum?
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation based in Cologny, Geneva. Recognized by the Swiss authorities as the international institution for public-private cooperation, its mission is cited as “committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas”.
WEF has Come a Long Way
The World Economic Forum has grown from a small huddle in the 1970s, when it was started by the academic Klaus Schwab, to hosting more than 2,500 participants, of which more than 1,000 are chief executives or company chairs and more than 40 are world leaders.
What Happens in Davos?
There are lots of meetings. Anyone can attend the public meetings. The closed ones – only those with a white badge can attend (i.e. they've paid to attend the conference or have been invited). The private ones – you don't come to know about them. Those are where the big deals are discussed, behind closed doors.
Inside Story
Apart from all the talking there is a lot of ‘partying’ and mostly you don't have to pay. Companies attending the conference put on dinners and drinks to provide a networking opportunity for their clients. So yes, there is food and drink on tap, but they're not exactly parties. Occasionally big name bands will show up to liven things up.
Podium for Ideas
The purpose behind the congregation is to spark ideas and conversations – it doesn't pretend to solve them there and then. The BRICS New Development Bank – an alternative to the World Bank and the IMF launched last year – was conceived during a conversation between economists Lord Stern and Joseph Stiglitz in Davos in 2011.
How to Go About It?
You either have to be invited – and to do that, assuming you’re not a world leader or chief executive, you probably need to be running a socially minded company or an NGO – Or you can get your company to pay CHF 27,000 (£19,000), plus membership of the World Economic Forum and a very expensive hotel.
One famous venture capital firm spends at least £500,000 keeping its investors happy at the event.
If you don’t have that kind of money, you can still just turn up in a camper van, and attend the fringe events.
Advance Planning
People leave no stone unturned to get within a snowball’s throw of the movers and shakers. Planning is the key. You can get what’s known as a “hotel badge” which does not give you access to the conference itself, but gets you past hotel security where the parties are held.
One-Stop Platform for Meeting Clients
It’s easier to meet all your clients at one place than flying all around the world to meet them.
What you need to know?
The day usually starts with a breakfast invite for 7am. It's cold – ski gear is ideal. But this is a conference and as soon as you get inside it’s really warm. Many people carry a change of shoes in their bag.
Winter Gear & Wardrobe
For starters, pack the right kind of clothes. Davos is high up in the Swiss mountains, above 1,500 metres.
In January it is cold, especially at night time. Temperatures can drop to minus 20 Celsius. You need some serious winter gear, and good boots to trudge through the snow and ice.
Your wardrobe should strike the right balance between keeping warm and what's loosely termed “business casual”. Most men wear suits or smart jackets, but ties are optional.
Be Smart
The biggest problem for a newcomer is to avoid being overwhelmed.
Hundreds of official sessions have been crammed into five days, and then there is the lure of dozens of private parties and networking events every day.
Work out which sessions you really want to attend.
Reserve a place at your key sessions early. Some events are full within 15 minutes after booking starts.
Controlled Chaos
Don’t be intimidated when everybody seems to be striding through the conference centre full of purpose. Even Davos regulars can get lost at times.
If you move between buildings, say the Congress Centre and the Belvedere hotel (where most parties are held), always allow for some extra time to get through security.
Networking
Strike up a conversation with people you've never met before.
There are no public relations managers and no personal assistants. Just you and about 2,500 of the who’s who of the world.
It is here that social entrepreneurs, young executives and technology pioneers make the contacts that can change their lives and the fate of their companies.
Talk, listen, learn; be open to surprises and be prepared to surprise others.
Emotional Intelligence
The event is not just about talking shop. Its founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab says that one benefit is that those attending can develop “emotional intelligence”.
Basic Data
Population of Davos – 11,000
Population during WEF – 30,000
Chief executives or chairmen – 1,074
World leaders – 40 plus
Women – 18%
(Source: World Economic Forum)
India at the Davos
More needs to be done on ‘ease of doing business’ with India, says Jaitley
India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said India’s ranking has improved on ‘ease of doing business’ in the last one year, but more needs to be done on that front and necessary steps are being undertaken.
Speaking at Davos at “The Global Economic Outlook” session on the last day of the WEF Annual Meeting, Jaitley said the political opposition is unlikely to obstruct the reform process, including on the direct and indirect tax reforms.
Jaitley said the Goods and Sales Tax (GST) remains very high on the government’s priority, while the new bankruptcy law is another major reform measure, going ahead.
Confident of pushing GDP growth higher and continuing the reforms agenda, Jaitley was hopeful about the GST getting through which is one of the few reforms that has been held up.
The panelists said India remains a bright spot in the global economy with a growth rate of over 7 per cent, the highest for any large economy.
The other panelists in the session included IMF chief Christine Lagarde, British Chancellor of Exchequer George Osborne, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse's CEO Tidjane Thiam.
To a question on whether there were any problems, Jaitley said there are “quite a lot” still and one of the basic problems remains that a large population still lives in poverty.
“To take them out of poverty, we need a sustained high level of growth for a long time. There is an increasing realisation in India that given some favourable conditions, we can grow at a much faster pace,” he said, according to a PTI report.
Besides global factors, Jaitley said, there have been two successive bad monsoons which have hurt rural demand and therefore, the growth rate.
“On global situation, oil price has been quite helpful, but shrinkage of exports has been an adversity,” he said.
Jaitley said the government has taken a number of steps and some more are in the pipeline, including some legislative reforms. “If we get through with that, we can grow at a much faster pace in coming years.”
Asked about his high priority areas, Jaitley said, “I think what is extremely important is that all steps that the government has taken have been in one direction. We have not made any mistake. States have also become very competitive and that is also a very good news for India. Also, it is only one or two legislations, including GST, that has been held up, but it is very high on our priority. The direct tax reforms we are undertaking should not have any problems. We are also hopeful of the indirect tax reform. Then, we have new bankruptcy law. One main reform which is still work in progress is ease of doing business in India. We did not have a great track record on that, but our rankings have improved there also. Still, it remains a work in progress and we will continue to take steps on that front.”
On technology, Jaitley agreed that the new trends in this area and the fourth industrial revolution would indeed benefit India. “Indians over the last one decade or so took naturally to IT. This was because of energy unleashed within and outside the country. The new Startup India campaign is targeted at that again. We have announced tax breaks and many more benefits and the government will adopt a no-interference approach. These measures would unleash the entrepreneurial energy of Indians in the technology space,” Jaitley said, according to the news agency report.
RBI boss Rajan upbeat about India’s future
Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan is very hopeful of the Indian economy and believes that India will lead in years to come.
Speaking to NDTV in Davos, Rajan said the current market situation is very volatile. He says India is in the process of recovery and limits of certain policies are worrying.
Rajan ticked off the rich by saying, “This is an issue about the wrongdoers amongst the community who raised the cost of borrowing for everybody. This is saying if we can get those guys to behave.”
On banks, he said, “We are in process of cleaning them up, we spent quite some time giving them the powers to take actions, now that they have those powers, they have a lot of flexibility on dealing with loans.”
