The global Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) industry is now shifting its focus to the Middle East, a world renowned business journalist said during a key forum here. John Willman, Financial Times Editorial Consultant and former UK Business Editor and Associate Editor, said that with challenges faced by the TMT industry worldwide, international media and telecommunication companies have expressed interest to invest in Qatar and the rest of the region. “There are a lot of opportunities here and the rest of the Middle East. You can’t ignore a big market like this and investors and foreign companies are noticing it… International media and telecommunication companies are looking into coming here and invest. These investors are now thinking carefully on where to put their money, and, like I said, there are a lot of opportunities here,” said Willman during the conclusion of the Financial Times’ Society, Media and Technology Summit 2009 at the Doha Ritz-Carlton. The second day of the summit saw an engaging discussion on the transformational power of the TMT industry in the Middle East. THE PENINSULA Speakers agreed on Qatar being well positioned to becoming a centre of excellence in the regional global TMT industry. Building the foundations for media and telecommunications development in the Middle East was tackled in another session. Willman said he was very pleased with the outcome of the conference, especially since it raised a lot of interesting issues. The Financial Times conference organisers chose the title for the summit, he said, because “it is an obvious topic to do here in Qatar with the growth of its oil industry, TMT businesses are very important here.” Willman, who facilitated the summit, said he will be one of the judges in the 4th Financial Times Sustainable Banking Conference and Awards, an annual event the company holds in partnership with the World Bank, in the first week of June. The event will be held in Europe. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=May2009&file=Local_News200905202038.xml

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