Our biannual AESIEAP CEO Conference and Conference of the Electric Power Supply Industry (CEPSI) have become perennial de rigueur events for industry practitioners. Our voices are also being heard by regulators and influential entities, making us an effective advocator of sustainable and viable energy policies for countries in our region.

CEM is privileged to be the host of the upcoming CEO Conference 2007 and CEPSI 2008, which will be held in the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. On behalf of CEM and Macau SAR, I would like to thank the AESIEAP Council for giving us the opportunity to host these two prestigious events. As President of AESIEAP, I feel both honored and delighted to have the opportunity to serve our members in this capacity.

According to World Energy Outlook 2006, energy demand will grow more than 50% by 2030 and over 70% of that growth will come from developing countries. At the same time, if we do not curb our emissions, carbon dioxide emission will also grow 55% by 2030. Power generation is expected to account for half of that emission and developing countries are expected to produce over 75% of them.

The report also suggested that fossil fuels will remain dominant through to 2030. Yet, the growing insensitivity of oil demand to price will continue to push the price of fossil fuels up. Rising prices and tightening supply are posing real threat to the world's energy security.

This offers huge opportunities yet daunting challenges for AESIEAP members. We will see healthy growth in our business. However, meeting such hungry demand also requires massive investment in energy supply infrastructure, which we must manage astutely. We must also seek to embrace alternate fuel strategy through innovative technology and changing of government policies. Prompt actions are needed from us to combat global warming, rising cost, and other adversities brought forth by growing consumption of fossil fuels.

However, there is a silver lining to all these. International Energy Agency postulated that the cost of deploying alternative energy supply practices through enhancement of energy efficiency and development of renewable, biofuels, and nuclear energy can eventually pay for itself, making them smart long term investment for our AESIEAP members.

CEO Conference 2007 , with the theme of “ New Trends in the Power Sector - Solutions for the Quality Of Life ”, will be held in Macau from 10-12 October 2007 . During the event, m embers are encourage d to deliberate on and offer innovative solutions to these challenges. I would also like to remind that our theme for CEPSI 2008 will be “Power Sector in a Fast Changing World”. These themes aptly reflect the global energy trends and I sincerely hope that we can break some new grounds not only for our AESIEAP members but also for a large number of experts we expect during these two events.

Since energy consumption grows at the fastest pace in developing countries, many of our member organizations will benefit greatly from being able to develop sustainable energy supply practices. Therefore, besides actively participating in our events, I would also like to urge our members to maintain dynamic dialog and collaboration during the forthcoming two years. Let us work closely together to ensure that the people we serve will always enjoy secure energy supply at an affordable cost. And I, as President of AESIEAP, am pledging my most assiduous effort to serve and support AESIEAP the best I can.