WEF meeting begins, co-chairs deliberate on meltdown

Indivjal Dhasmana Davos, Jan 28 (PTI) The five-day annual meeting of the World Economic Forum got off today with one of co-chairs warning that resolution of current global financial meltdown will take long if drastic actions are not taken.Anand Mahindra, co-chair from India, said the unsavoury Satyam episode was evidence of materialism and greed complementing the last few years of growth and this kind of evidence can be seen everywhere and not just in India.Highlighting the need to continue with reforms, the co-chairs said capitalism should be transformed towards values but not towards "isolationist era"."The (global economic) crisis is getting worse. Values of real economy are still going down. It is going to take great drastic action to turn around, if it (the global situation) can be turned around."I believe it will take quite a long time. We must be realistic about where we are," News Corporation Chairman and one of the co-chairs Rupert Murdoch said in the inaugural press conference here.Looking at Satyam debacle as an opportunity, Mahindra, the Vice-Chairman and MD of Indian corporate house Mahindra & Mahindra, said, the (Satyam) episode has a silver-lining that it gives all of us an opportunity to realign our role models, realign our priorities and to reroot capitalism."We in India are convinced that the Satyam episode was evidence of materialism and greed that complements the last few years of growth. And that kind of evidence is manifested not just in India but everywhere," Mahindra said, adding, "I believe capitalism has some flaws... It needs to be rooted in values, and that is avowed goal of this forum," he said.HSBC Group Chairman Stephen Green said the clock cannot be turned back to more isolationist views of the world. "We have to continue the process of reforms," he said. PTI