Programme

Resilience in an interconnected and evolving region

09:00

Chairperson's opening remarks

09:10

Keynote address: Global economic outlook: developments in global financial and domestic markets

• Financial markets in changing times - new challenges for an already complex environment
• Upside and downside risks
• The modern digital era – the importance of drawing a distinction between cryptocurrencies as an investment instrument

09:50

Presentation: Domestic revenue mobilization in Sub-Saharan Africa—what are the possibilities?

• SSA’s enormous needs in terms of infrastructure and social developments
• With debt vulnerabilities rising in the region, SSA countries will need to further rely on sustainable sources of financing
• SSA has the potential to mobilize considerably more revenue than it currently does - how can this be done?

11:00

Discussion groups: Each discussion group will be led by an expert moderator, providing delegates with an opportunity to delve deeper into the areas of importance in an informal, off the record setting. 

1. Current trends and challenges in reserve management

• This group will discuss some of the main trends in reserve management practices and will explore some of the challenges ahead

2. Reinventing fixed income markets

• How are fixed income markets changing? What factors are driving change – in different markets and geos? Led by an experienced market practitioner, this group will look forward at credit dynamics from the perspective of a reserve manager

3. Current changes to arise within the investment environment

• This group will address how this transition is developing within the macro environment, how this is changing asset allocation and what is the new environment that we are faced with?

11:40

Presentation: Globalisation; US engagement; EU integration - peak, pleateau or plunge 

• Divergences across developed and emerging currency, fixed-income and equity markets
• Outlook for the combined impact of demographic, technological and structural economic on real economic growth
• Major challenges and possibilities for the investment industry
• Asset growth and performance drivers for active management and factor-based, smart-beta strategies

12:20

Presentation: Diversifying reserves portfolios – the case of Botswana

• The Pula Fund governance structure
• Funding for the Pula Fund – A quasi-SWF
• Objectives of the Pula Fund
• Reserves management policies and guidelines review – the diversification drive
• Implementation challenges

Managing asset allocation, investment and the optimisation of balance sheets

14:00

Presentation: G3 Monetary Policy & Implications for Emerging Markets

• Policy tightening will be asynchronous
• G3 tightening could impact Emerging Markets, but it will be differentiated in scope
• US-China trade war poses larger risk

15:20

Presentation: Looking beyond traditional asset classes: exploring available alternatives

• Considerations for asset allocation – the risks and opportunities
• Should you invest within your own emerging markets and the selection process
• The expansion of investment and trading activities – looking beyond traditional boundaries
• How to account for fast-evolving and unpredictable external forces

16:00

Panel: Portfolio and risk management for central banks

• Active portfolio management and portfolio construction
• Diversifying market and default risk in high grade bond portfolios
• Optimal active portfolio management and relative performance drivers
• Hedging inflation risk with domestic investment in a developing economy

16:50

Chairperson's closing remarks