A future-focused resources conference backed by one of Asia Pacific’s most prolific investment firms will converge on Singapore for the first time next year.

The Future Facing Commodities conference, which will run from April 4-6 in the Asian economic hub, is the first event planned under the Resource Connect Asia banner – a new initiative from the experienced Australian brains-trust behind Vertical Events.

Future Facing Commodities will aim to bring global leaders in the EV and critical metals industries together with global capital markets.

That goal is expected to be significantly enhanced by Resource Connect Asia’s partnerships with globally significant investment and advisory firm Tribeca – a well-established brand with a strong presence in the region – along with major Perth-based stockbroking firm Argonaut.

“We recognised the need for this sort of an event in Singapore, with a lot of Asian funds moving there from Hong Kong,” Resource Connect Asia’s Stewart McDonald told Stockhead.

“We decided it was time to get involved in backing a conference with similar appeal to what Mines & Money was to Hong Kong in the old days.”

Setting up shop

Tribeca established a Singaporean presence five years ago headed by Global Natural Resources business founder Ben Cleary, and now manages several funds in the region with a number of key business heads operating from the Singapore office.

That includes Tribeca partner and head of the group’s advisory business Tribeca Capital, Scott Clements, who told Stockhead that Singapore had in recent years grown to become a key global hub for finance and investment.

“Singapore has evolved into the Asian regional hub for international finance, with large pools of capital targeting the ESG thematic,” he said.

“We see a tremendous opportunity to provide exposure to these clients via our fund offerings and co-investment opportunities in equity, debt and carbon credits.

“When the Vertical Events team approached us, we immediately saw the potential to create a large, benchmark event that would bring together the full spectrum of participants in the Future Minerals space – from upstream mining companies to downstream end users and everyone in between.

“It was clear to us that Singapore was the ideal location, and that Vertical Events had the experience and capacity to make it a success.”

Right on time

The timing couldn’t be better for the launch of an Asian critical metals conference, with the World Bank predicting demand for the minerals needed in renewable and clean energy technology to increase by some 500% through to 2050.

That includes minerals like lithium, nickel, rare earths, cobalt, graphite, copper, vanadium – the whole gamut of materials which will drive the region, and the world’s global greenification.

The full spectrum of the supply chain is expected to be represented at Future Facing Commodities, including end users, battery manufacturers, miners and explorers, traders, government representatives and investors.

McDonald said he expected the event to draw an international crowd.

“We’re bringing companies from Canada, the US, London, companies and governments from Asia, as well Australians, into Singapore,” he said.

“Singapore is a global hub for investment and a fund hub, and I think messaging around ESG and sustainability will be key themes when it comes to the discussion around the funding of big projects around the world.

“The event being backed by a major global fund adds that extra layer of credibility – we believe it will open doors to new opportunities for companies which may not traditionally be available to $50-100 million market cap companies.”

A huge global trend

You don’t need to look far to see evidence of the importance of critical minerals to governments around the world.

Just last month, Australia launched a new National Critical Minerals Strategy designed to accelerate the growth of the sector to support clean energy technologies, with the budget allocating funds over multiple years to a development program to assist in that goal.

Australia and Singapore also announced in October a bilateral Green Economy Agreement which will see the two parties work together to speed up low-carbon and green technology adoption through commercial and business opportunities, as well as intergovernmental and public-private partnerships.

These trends are echoed in the US – where the Biden government has awarded billions to support a transition to a greener economy, and in the EU which is working towards ambitious climate targets and has banned the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2035.

They’re trends that are all expected to play into the conference in April.

“This is a global event, and we don’t expect it to be a one-off event,” McDonald said. “I see no reason this couldn’t grow into an event of significance across the region.”

Stockhead will serve as media partner of the 2023 Future Facing Commodities event in Singapore.

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Vertical Events, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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