Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE

تحت رعاية صاحب السمو الشيخ محمد بن زايد آل نهيان، رئيس دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة

Supported by

Mike Singh

Chairman & CEO

TC & Energy Infra Group

Mike
Mike

Mike Singh is a globally respected ICT executive, thought leader and an investor in the Indus‐Americas Subsea Cable System (BRICS Cable) which is expected to solve the bandwidth constraints faced by the emerging markets of the Southern Hemisphere via the linkage of Asia, the Middle East, Africa & the Americas. In addition, his firm provides consultancy services to a number of global powerhouses in the convergent communication sector with a specialized focus on subsea, terrestrial broadband and wireless infrastructure , data centres, managed network services, wireless communications, content delivery, business & knowledge process outsourcing, unified communications, mobile health, M2M, IoT, AI and Cyber Security solutions in an increasingly ubiquitous world. Formerly, Mr. Singh’s career has been hallmarked with several leadership positions with AT&T, Tata Communications, Level 3 Communications & Verizon Communications which gave him direct responsibility for managing their strategic business relationships with the multinational conglomerates and carriers (PTTs) across key emerging markets on three continents. Likewise, his private consulting work has included stints of service with Vodafone Group, Airtel, MTN, AWCC (Afghanistan) and other global carriers in developing their global growth strategy geared towards Latin America, Africa, Middle East & Asia. Mr. Singh has supported the leadership team involved in the design and implementation of the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 with core responsibility for the ICT readiness (AI, IoT, Block Chain, Hyper Converged Infra) working directly for the Abu Dhabi based MUBADALA. He has also supported the lead team with oversight in recent investments in the $100 Billion Softbank Fund, Apple, Google, Jio Networks, Facebook, Samsung, Tesla and Amazon. He is also ranked in the Top 10% of global telecoms experts by the respected Gerson-Lehrman Group (GLG). In November 2000, he was named to the prestigious Global Digital Divide Initiative of the World Economic Forum during the World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit held in Delhi and served as Chair of the Strategy & Policy Committee at the said Global Digital Divide Initiative Meeting that established the ‘Shiksha India Education Programme’ that has since promoted the deployment of the internet into the most remote corners of the Indian sub-continent . Mr. Singh is recognised thought leader and a regular presenter on issues of relevance to the global ICT sector with a special focus on mobile-convergent communications growth in the emerging markets of Latin America & the Caribbean, Middle East, Africa & Asia. He is highly sought after for his expertise by such global industry leaders as CNN International, BBC, Deutsche Welle, CBC, Al-Jazeera, The Financial Times, Fortune and Bloomberg. To date, his global speaking engagements have taken him afar as The UAE, Senegal, Rwanda, South Africa, Russia, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, France, Spain, Germany and of course throughout the Caribbean Basin. In 2017, he launched TC Energy & Infra Group in response to the Southern Caribbean Energy Corridor’s burgeoning energy sector which involves the development of several cutting-edge projects, a state of the art, fully integrated logistics hub geared towards the offshore O&G industry (EPC, FEED, ICT). It also serves as the strategic partner for market entry, business development and joint ventures with some of the key players across the UAE, Asia & The Americas TC Energy & Infra is also leading the digital transformation of the Latin America & Caribbean’s energy sector via the development of the first ever private 5G Network for Industry, the SCE’s first ever Tier AI Data Centre in conjunction with NVIDIA, HP, Dell, Samsung, Nutanix, Submer and Softbank.

Session Overview
Thursday, 6 November
12:20
Emerging Economies ICC Hall B 12:20 - 13:00
The rise of resource nationalism: emerging economies and the critical minerals trade

Emerging economies rich in critical minerals are asserting increasing control over their resources, reshaping trade flows and, in some cases, implementing protectionist and localised policies. Governments looking to capture greater value and reduce dependency on overseas partners are prioritising domestic beneficiation, ramping up local processing activities while limiting raw mineral exports. As demand for lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements continues to grow, and emerging economies look to secure strategic autonomy, the shift away from liberal trade norms towards resource nationalism is likely to persist. While this may raise questions over market fragmentation, increased investment risk and long-term supply chain instability, it will also present opportunities related to industrial development and infrastructure investment. To navigate this transition effectively, international energy leaders must engage constructively with emerging economies, aligning themselves with local development goals and accepting negotiated access to critical resources. Provided producing countries succeed in balancing nationalist policies with stable, investment-friendly frameworks that support sustainable industrial growth, the transition to a partnership-centric model could help rebalance global critical mineral value chains and support long-term supply resilience.

Attendee insights:

Explore how emerging economies are leveraging resources to increase control over critical mineral value chains while balancing protectionism, investment risk and global supply security.

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