CO-PRESENTED BY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CO-PRESENTED BY 3 SALT – which stands for SkyBridge Alternatives – is all about bringing people together to address big opportunities and solve big problems across finance, technology and geopolitics. At SALT Abu Dhabi, we will cover a myriad of topics, ranging from the evolution of sovereign wealth and family office management to solutions for addressing climate change and the implications of artificial intelligence to U.S.-Arab relations and the political future of Europe. Through our networking solutions and social events, we Welcome to the inaugural hope to facilitate business dealings and promote greater cultural understanding. SALT Abu Dhabi We would like to thank ADGM and His Excellency Chairman Al Sayegh for being the ”driving force behind making SALT Abu Dhabi a reality and thank Mubadala for its partnership in making the event such a great success. We would like to thank you all Following 10 tremendous years in Las Vegas and three great events in Asia, we of you in attendance for joining us at the inaugural SALT Abu Dhabi. We hope you are excited to bring SALT to the Middle East for the first time. Last year we set enjoy the event and that you will return for many years to come. out on a mission to find the ideal partner for our next international conference. We traveled to many of the world’s great cities, meeting with local business leaders and public officials. But after spending two days in Abu Dhabi, we realized the Emirate would play the perfect host. Sincerely, Why did we choose Abu Dhabi? The values that define SALT – dialogue, collaboration and openness to different ideas and cultures – are the same values under which His Highness Sheikh Zayed helped establish of the United Arab Emirates and continue to govern the country in 2019, the Year of Tolerance. In less than 50 years, under the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the country leveraged those lofty ideals to become a thriving hub of business and innovation, as well as a cultural melting pot and premier international destination. Abu Dhabi is the center of the investor universe. The institutions that call Abu Dhabi home are some of the most pioneering and sophisticated in the world, investing in engines of growth and transformative technologies that are improving billions of lives. Under the tremendous leadership of His Excellency Ahmed Al Sayegh, ADGM is quickly becoming the preeminent financial gateway between East and West – building infrastructure that is second-to-none globally in terms of creating trust and ease of doing business. Abu Dhabi is a beautiful place! It combines rich culture and natural beauty with modern attractions like the Louvre, Yas Island, Saadiyat Beach, world class sporting events and entertainment, and, of course, the iconic Emirates Palace. We like to have fun at SALT, and Abu Dhabi is a lot of fun. 4 5 CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS ADGM: A Global Financial Hub Takes Shape in the Middle East 20 10 SPEAKERS HIS EXCELLENCY AHMED ALI AL SAYEGH 22 SPECIAL EVENTS Omar Kamal Michael Cavanaugh Tuesday, December 10 Wednesday, December 11 21:00-22:00 21:00-22:00 Palace Terrace Palace Terrace NETWORKING SALT Day Lounge SALT Evening Receptions 08 Tuesday76 10 & Wednesday 11 December Tuesday 10 & Wednesday 11 December All Day 19:00-23:00 FEATURES Auditorium Terrace Palace Terrace FEATURES FEATURES FEATURES access to a large client base in the region. ADGM original Silk Road that connected Europe to Asia registered entities find a jurisdiction which maintains centuries ago and is now home to one of the world’s ADGM: A GLOBAL international best practice, facilitates access to most ambitious infrastructure and development advice and sophisticated products, a full range of projects. structuring and holding entities, inheritance planning As part of the bilateral agreement, the and management through corporate vehicles, NRDC and ADGM is establishing a Belt-and-Road FINANCIAL HUB inheritance trusts and foundations. ADGM is set investment and financing center that will serve up to support business formation, innovation and and support major joint projects and initiatives intermediation, conforming to international best between China and the UAE while also supporting TAKES SHAPE IN THE practices while setting entirely new standards in the enterprises and investors seeking to operate within Middle East and globally. the other’s respective markets. Since launching the Together, ADGM’s three independent initiative, ADGM has established close cooperation authorities—the Registration Authority (RA), the with nearly 100 Chinese financial institutions and MIDDLE EAST Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) enterprises. and ADGM Courts—provide businesses regulatory certainty, with a fully comprehensive of services and FINANCIAL SERVICES support to help them succeed. What’s more, the REGULATORY AUTHORITY region’s 0% corporate and income tax has made A global economic powerhouse, Abu Dhabi sits luxury shopping, restaurants and healthcare facilities ADGM an attractive venue for local and global To grow and thrive, businesses need to operate in at the gateway between east and west and serves like the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, an extension of businesses of all types, including startups, investors, an environment this is fair, efficient and transparent. as an important strategic link between the growing the preeminent U.S. hospital. regulators, accelerators and more. The ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority economies of the broader Middle East, Africa and To anchor more financial services and attract Four years after its formation, ADGM has has developed a framework in keeping with South Asia. Today, the bustling metropolis is placed the world’s leading financial giants, Abu Dhabi attracted some of the biggest names in wealth and internationally recognized standards and practices, alongside global financial capitals like London, New strategically invested in state-of-the-art infrastructure asset management, including BNP Paribas, Citibank, developed in an open environment complete with York, Hong Kong and Singapore. and introduced a progressive, business friendly and Blackstone and Northern Trust, as well as Abu public consultations, engagements on introduction well-regulated international financial centre that Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds, Mubadala and ADIA, and amendments of rules and policies. How did Abu Dhabi evolve from would serve as model for both the region and the all of wvhich collectively manage more than $2.6 With a great deal of uncertainty in the digital desert peninsula to international world. In 2015, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), trillion in assets. assets markets, ADGM is one of the first jurisdictions When businesses decide to operate within center of finance? The process an International Finance Centre (IFC) that oversees a worldwide to implement a comprehensive and robust 281-acre jurisdiction that extends across the entirety ADGM—named MENA Financial Center of the Year regulatory framework for crypto asset activities, started taking root a half of Al Mariyah Island. for four consecutive years—they have access to a addressing common risks such as money laundering century ago. At the heart of Abu Dhabi, a centre of wealth of services and first-of-its-kind features. and financial crime, consumer protection, technology wealth with over a trillion dollars of assets under governance, custody and exchange operations. In the late 1960s, following the discovery of oil and management, ADGM is a perfect location for Private THE REGISTRATION AUTHORITY The FSRA is also the first in the world to gas, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan recognized Banking and Wealth Management entities which regulate Crypto Asset Exchanges as “exchanges,” that a strong economy is one with a diverse asset focus on the needs of High Net-Worth (HNW) At its heart, the Registration Authority is responsible with rules and regulations that closely mirror base and anchored by various key industries and individuals and families who demand bespoke for the registration, incorporation and licensing of traditional markets. In addition, intermediaries like sectors. The government of the United Arab Emirates financial services with a high degree of customised legal entities within ADGM and provides support custodians, brokers, asset managers and advisors (UAE) initiated a well-diversified portfolio across advice and personal relationship management. for all government-related services. Beyond initial are likewise guided by these best-in-class standards asset classes, geographies and sectors to enable This includes banking services, management of business set up, the Registration Authority plays a to prevent financial crime, protect consumers and and support the long term and sustainable growth of assets, financial services such as insurance, estate key role in facilitating cross-border partnerships and ensure proper custody and governance of assets. its economy. management and tax planning with concierge collaboration. Basil Al Askari, Co-Founder and Chief As Abu Dhabi began building its foothold services. In July, ADGM and the National Development Executive Officer of MidChains, an institutional in the financial sphere, the UAE’s capital city In just these few years, ADGM soon became and Reform Commission (NDRC) signed a crypto asset trading platform that provides one of the simultaneously and successfully positioned itself a globally recognised