Thank you for attending the SWIFT Meeting Sibos 2014/2015 held on February 18, 2015. At NTT DATA Getronics Corporation, we sincerely appreciate the opportunity to co-present with SWIFT Japan.
This event was held for three purposes: to review Sibos 2014 in Boston, to discuss the overview of Sibos 2015 to be held in Singapore, and to host cocktail party for clients. Sibos, the financial industry's premier conference event, was successfully held last year in the U.S. in Boston. There were several new themes discussed in 2014, including the Sibos University, the Investment Manager Forum, and non-bank payment systems. This year, for the first time since 2003, Sibos returns to Singapore in the heart of the South-East Asia. Attendees from Asia-Pacific region can expect more new items to be presented this year.
On this winter's day, over 100 clients filled the conference hall in the Urbannet Otemachi Building. As a keynote of the event, Mr. Yuji Takei, Country Manager of SWIFT Japan commented on Sibos 2014, which was attended by approximately 200 people from Japan. Mr. Takei expressed their expectations regarding the future planned event to be held at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
Mr. Yuji Takei
Mr. Masashi Nakajima
Masashi Yanaka, Executive Director from our company NTT DATA Getronics, discussed our expectations for Sibos 2015 using numerical comparisons of past Sibos events. The key message was "Let's have a greater than ever presence at the next Sibos, and show the world that the Japanese financial industry is as enthusiastic as other countries." This comment reflected the fact that the number of Japanese speakers, sessions attended by Japanese speakers, or the booths hosted by Japanese companies has only represented 3-4 % of all Sibos attendees.
Mr. Masashi Yanaka
Mr. Yanaka also shared tweeted messages from our clients in both the financial industry and the information technology industry, as well as our colleagues. These tweets demonstrated how exceptional Sibos events have been for the attendees and how much value Sibos events have provided us. Here are some of the tweets he relayed: "Sibos is an open window to international business for us. We should attend every single year for our global business expansion." as tweeted by one of our clients. "Attending Sibos was one of the most enjoyable tasks I have ever had since I started to work for this company," as tweeted by one of our colleagues.
This year, Sibos will be held in Singapore, which will make it much easier for people from Japan to attend. Mr. Yanaka hopes that there will be more attendees from Japan than in the past years. He concluded this talk with a message to enjoy Singapore, referring to both countries’ cultural drinks "Japanese Sake (Nihonsyu)" and "Singapore Slings."
This SWIFT Meeting had three other presenters: Mr. Yumesaku Ishigaki (BTMU Executive Officer, Global Head of Transaction Banking, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.); Mr. Hiroshi Kawagoe (General Manager, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation); and Mr. Masashi Nakajima (Professor, Reitaku University). Each discussed the key messages and highlights of both Sibos 2014 and 2015, and presented SWIFT2020.
At the conclusion of the presentations, all of the SWIFT Meeting Sibos 2014/2015 attendees enjoyed time together at the cocktail party. It was a great networking opportunity for both attendees and us.
We hope to see you at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore!
