CONVERGE LIVE updates: Former UK PM David Cameron urges Trump to consider the benefits of globalization

Former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron described U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest comments on Russia as “hugely reassuring” in ensuring Ukraine’s independence.

Trump said he could impose a “devastating” financial blow if Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to accept a 30-day ceasefire negotiated by the U.S. Ukraine agreed to the terms of the ceasefire, if Russia accepts the plan.

Cameron described Putin as deeply nationalistic, anti-Western and anti-democratic and said the Russian leader couldn’t be trusted.

— Kevin Lim

Former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron expressed concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump’s views on free trade, which risk stoking inflation and slowing global economic growth.

“I’m worried about this because I’m a free trader. I believe that if you maximize free trade, it isn’t a one country wins and the other country loses, it can be a win-win situation and it normally is,” Cameron told CNBC’s CONVERGE LIVE in Singapore on Thursday.

“I fear that Donald Trump’s view of the world is he sort of looks at a country and says if you’ve got a surplus in trade with me, you’re ripping me off. That’s not the case. If every country in the world had a surplus, who would have the deficit? Mars, Jupiter? So, I don’t think that view of the world is right,” Cameron said.

— Kevin Lim

Former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna, Binance CEO Richard Teng and LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil are among the key speakers scheduled to take part in CNBC’s inaugural CONVERGE LIVE event on Thursday.

The sessions get underway at 9:40 a.m. Singapore time (9:40 p.m. ET), with Britain’s David Cameron poised to discuss advancements in AI, the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and the notion of American exceptionalism.

Talabat CEO Tomaso Rodriguez will take part in a session focused on how to speed up global supply chains later in the morning, while Ferrari’s Vigna will discuss the outlook for the luxury Italian carmaker shortly after 1 p.m. local time.

Alongside HashKey Capital CEO Chao Deng, Binance’s Teng is scheduled to discuss the Trump crypto boost from around 2:40 p.m. local time.

— Sam Meredith

Grab’s co-founder and CEO Anthony Tan is pushing ahead with incorporating AI into his business, and said those who don’t embrace the technology will eventually be left behind.

“Humans who don’t embrace AI in a company will be replaced by humans who embrace AI,” the Malaysian businessman told CNBC’s Christine Tan at CONVERGE LIVE in Singapore on Wednesday.

The company, which is Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing and super app, has incorporated AI into training platform Grab Academy, while Tan himself has a personal AI coding assistant. “I can’t code myself, but I use it to build my own projects, for research, for Grab,” he said.

“If you were to embrace it, it not only makes you superhuman, it makes your company superhuman,” Tan said of AI adoption.

Read the full story here.

— Sawdah Bhaimiya, Ernestine Siu, Lucy Handley

Tech leaders weighed in on the future of artificial intelligence, a hot topic at CNBC’s CONVERGE LIVE in Singapore on Wednesday.

Alibaba‘s chairman Joe Tsai talked about the impact of Chinese AI Start-up DeepSeek’s open-sourced R1 model in January and said that it has led to a “proliferation of applications.” 

“I think the so-called DeepSeek moment is really not about whether China has better AI than the U.S., or vice versa. It’s really about the power of open source,” he said.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff questioned investments in data centers due to AI such as DeepSeek. “What you just saw with DeepSeek, and also with Alibaba, with their Qwen model is that you don’t need this kind of technology. So I think it has to be rethought. Exactly what are you doing and why are you doing this?” he said of multi-billion dollar investments in data centers.

Meanwhile, Dean Carignan, AI innovations lead at Microsoft, said AI can take away drudgery, “and allow the human to provide the things that only a person can do: creativity, innovation, coalition building, inspiration, motivating others,” he said.

Trust is a key consideration for Cisco, according to SVP Guy Diedrich. “You don’t get access to data [for AI] unless you’re trusted, and the way that you’re trusted … is to provide security and be transparent,” he told the CONVERGE audience. In a “couple” of years, AI will be “embedded in everything we do,” he added.

Ganesha Rasiah, chief strategy officer at HP, said that some jobs will be “eliminated” by AI. “But we don’t foresee a world in which there’s a significantly elevated level of unemployment,” he said.

Read the full story here.

— Dylan Butts, Lucy Handley

U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs are a major concern among U.S. and international business leaders, with industry titans warning of trouble ahead.

Speaking at CNBC’s CONVERGE LIVE in Singapore, Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio said on Wednesday: “Tariffs are going to cause fighting between countries … I’m not necessarily talking about military. But think about U.S., Canada, Mexico, China … There will be fighting, and that will have consequences.”

Trump’s 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel imports took effect Wednesday, while U.S. markets have been in turmoil over the duties this week.

Meanwhile, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff described reciprocity between countries as “good” if they treat each other the same way. If you can’t put the what and the how in a consistent, clear and meaningful way, then you could end up with high levels of volatility and conflict,” Benioff said.

Read the full story here.

— Lucy Handley

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong kicked off proceedings at CNBC’s inaugural CONVERGE LIVE.

On an action-packed first day, Gan said that many in Asia were “watching with anxiety” as U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports came into effect. He added, however, that the region remains a “beacon of growth opportunities.”

U.S. hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio warned America’s mounting debt problems could lead to “shocking developments,” underlining the issue is of “paramount importance” for the world’s largest economy.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said the cloud software giant intends to invest an additional $1 billion in Singapore over the next five years. The investment is designed to accelerate the country’s digital transformation and the adoption of Salesforce’s flagship AI offering Agentforce.

For more highlights, take a look back at CNBC’s extensive coverage of the event’s first day.

— Sam Meredith