BBC
Viewpoints: G20 businessmen in London |
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How are ordinary business people from the G20 nations coping with the financial crisis and global downturn? The BBC has brought together nine businessmen to find out what impact the crisis has had on their lives, who they blame, and what they think can be done. They will be appearing on BBC radio, television and online over the next two days, starting with a breakfast forum hosted by economics editor Stephanie Flanders, where they will challenge business leaders and economists to explain how we got here and how we can get out of it. Click on the links below to read about the guests. |
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OKTAY GOKYILDIRIM, TURKEY, DIRECTOR OR SWEETWORLD
Oktay Gokyildirim is the director of Sweetworld, a confectionary company which imports sweets from Turkey to the UK.
He is also a member of the board of the Turkey-British Chamber of Commerce.
Mr Gokyildirim sees a desire among the leading world economies to address the affects of the global downturn.
But he thinks the difficulties of finding consensus on what to do will undermine their efforts and he has little faith in an agreement on implementing a stimulus package being reached at the G20 summit.
He is optimistic though about the prospect of the G20 economies agreeing to set out new regulations and new supervisory functions to better regulate the financial sector so that a reoccurrence of this downturn is avoided.
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TELEGRAPH
Leading economist delivers pessimistic outlook for global growth
DeAnne Julius, chairman of think tank Chatham House, has warned that the world could face five years of economic slowdown and a 10% decline in output.
Addressing a G20 breakfast seminar organised by BBC News, Mrs Julius, who was previously a Monetary Policy Committee member of the Bank of England, said there was a 40% chance of such a lengthy slowdown.
Other businessmen from G20 developing countries who participated in the seminar agreed with Mrs Julius’ negative outlook.
A Russian businessman, Igor Kalashnikov, said business at his double glazing company was down two and a half times, while Oktay Gokyildirim said imports had been hit by fluctuations in the exchange rate.
The G20 summit of world leaders is to be held in London next week.
There have been many predictions relating to the global economic slowdown with the International Monetary Fund forecasting that the world will grow by 1.5% to 2% in 2010 after falling by 0.5% to 1% in 2009.
As well as her post at Chatham House, which she has held since July 2003, 59 year old Julius is currently a non-executive director of Lloyds TSB, BP, Serco and Roche Holding Ltd.
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