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The global financial crisis will be a key topic of discussion during the meeting of industry leaders in the Third Annual Forum of GPCA (Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association), organized by the GPCA, in conjunction with Chemical Week , From 2 to 4 December 2008 in Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Those attending the conference on petrochemicals largest in the Middle East will have much to discuss, given that the global economic crisis has exacerbated the cyclical deterioration that has already been predicted by the end of 2008. Several producers have reported an overall on-year decline in demand of 20% or more, and prices plummeted between 50% and 70% in products such as ethylene, aromatics and some polymers.

Hassan Ahmed, managing director of HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. Will lead a special session in the forum of the GPCA, on Dec. 3, entitled "The Financial Crisis: Where is leading the global chemical industry from now? "(" The Financial Crisis: Where Does the Global Chemical Industry Go from Here? "). It also will address the impact of a sharp downturn in the petrochemical cycle as part of other meetings throughout the program.

"We are highly satisfied with the program of international quality that we have developed for the GPCA Forum this year," said Mohamed Al-Mady, vice chairman and CEO of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC). "No other event on the petrochemicals Middle East offers the scope and depth of content on the most urgent issues facing our market, especially the upheavals experienced by financial markets around the world. "

The Forum of GPCA offers a comprehensive program of general sessions of great relevance today and they were designed to address the issues affecting the global petrochemical industry today.

The first day's sessions included "How to meet the need for energy and raw materials in the region" (Meeting Needs Energy and Feedstock for the Region), led by Adbulla Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Deputy Minister of Energy and Petroleum of Qatar; president and managing director of Qatar Petroleum, "Managing Growth: Where are the new global sources of raw materials?" (Managing Growth: Where Are the New Global Sources Feedstock?), led by Jeffrey Lipton, executive director of Nova Chemical; "The challenge of energy: Implications for the Middle East and the Global Chemical Industry" (The Energy Challenge: Implications for the Middle East and the Global Chemical Industry), led by Ben van Beurden, executive vice president of Shell Chemicals. Will also be offered Two meetings on topics of interest by Human Resources and Supply Chain.

The second day's sessions included "How to manage growth and competitiveness in a cyclical industry" (Managing Growth and Competitiveness in a cyclical industry), led by Abdulrahman Jawahery, board member of the GPCA, General Manager of Gulf Petrochemical Industries Co. . (GPIC), "The new Chinese petrochemical market trends" (The New Trend in China's Petrochemicals Market), led by Li Xihong, president of the Institute for research, development and economy, Sinopec, "The role of green technologies in a global chemical environment "(The Role of Green Chemical Technologies in a Global Environment), led by Jose Carlos Grubisich, executive director of ETH SA Bioenergia" The future of the chemical in the Middle East "(The Future of Chemicals in the Middle East), led by Florian Budde, director of McKinsey & Company, Inc. "The emergence of the petrochemical industry of Iran and its role as promoter of regional growth" (The Emergence of Iran's Petrochemical Industry and its Role in Driving Regional Growth), led by Mohammad Ali Zardbani, the company National Petrochemical Company (NPC).