A four-day gathering of the world's banking and financial leaders called Sibos opened Monday in the city of Osaka, with more than 5,000 people from about 150 countries attending the organization's first-ever meeting in Japan.
Participants from Japan include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. President Takeshi Kunibe, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ President Nobuyuki Hirano and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. President Yasuhiro Sato, according to the organizer, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication.
The event will discuss financial regulation and money-settlement systems in light of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe. Also on the agenda will be how the global financial industry should capitalize on the rise of China and other emerging economies.
Also high on agenda is how to guard against cyber-attacks, the organizer said.
The closing day of the gathering is designated as the "Japan Day,' and extensive discussion will be held on Japan's financial service sector and domestic companies' business prospects in emerging economies.
On the sidelines of the mainline discussions, some 100 companies from the information-technology sector will pitch their products in their booths, such as the latest financial system programs with reinforced security.
The international event is expected to generate economic benefits totaling an estimated ¥10 billion for Osaka, according to SWIFT.
Sibos have been held since 1978, and the Osaka conference will be the first in the Asia-Pacific region since the meeting in Hong Kong in 2009.
Next year's meeting will be held in Dubai.