F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is not shy about speaking his mind when it comes to giving quotes to the media. However, he can be less forthcoming in communicating through other methods. Emails from Ecclestone are usually no longer than a few lines and come in the form of scanned faxes. He isn't one known for public speaking perhaps mindful of the fact that his comments can sometimes be a little terse. Nevertheless, Ecclestone recently made an exception to what seemed to be a longstanding rule.

On the Friday of the Singapore Grand Prix Ecclestone made a rare speaking engagement as he addressed 180 delegates at the Business of Motorsports in Asia conference. "People used to say, 'Go west, young man,' but now the world is moving east," said Ecclestone and he was referring to much more than the world of F1.

Amongst the other luminaries speaking at the event was Oswald Grubel, chief executive of UBS, the Swiss bank which recently signed a £30m partnership with F1, and he concluded that "Asia will be the world's biggest growth area for at least the next 10 years."

Indeed, the financial horsepower found in Asia explains why the event was held in the region. Magnus Bocker, chief executive of Singapore Exchange, which co-hosted the event with marketing agency JMI, said the summit was an opportunity for the stock exchange to help its customers grow their businesses. "The qualities and characteristics of F1 resonate well with Singapore Exchange and I am very encouraged that our customers have expressed strong interest and are telling us how this summit could potentially help them in expanding their global network through the association with established global brands," he said.

In his keynote address, Singapore's senior minister of state for trade, industry and education, said that the "summit is a good opportunity for companies in the region to network and capitalize on spin-offs brought by the anchoring of the Formula 1 race in Singapore."

With just two years left on Singapore's race hosting contract the event also gives the country a good incentive to extend its contract which, we presume, is why Ecclestone was speaking there. He was in good company as the event was also supported by the economic development board of Singapore, Singapore's tourism board, the Singapore sports council and media partners including The Business Times of Singapore and Channel NewsAsia.

The strong support is justified since, according to F1's industry monitor Formula Money, Singapore's government invests more in its F1 race than any other government. Its £38m is needed not only because of the high overheads of running a street race but also the lighting expense from doing this at night.

Singapore's event is the latest addition to what has become a very crowded market and there is even more to come. Since 2005 there has been an annual Motor Sport Business Forum in Monaco during the week of the FIA Gala in December but according to the organiser's website the event will not be taking place this year. Instead the F1 world can look forward to the Professional Motorsport Circuit Forum in November which will feature speeches from Salman Al Khalifa, chief executive of the Bahrain International Circuit, and Richard Woods, director general of the FIA Institute for Motorsport Safety and Sustainability.

Next year it is believed that yet another event will enter the fray when the Essen Motor Show adds a motorsport business conference to its already renowned agenda. If the growth in these events is anything to go by, the motorsport industry now seems to be over the bump in the road which was the recession. At least that is what the event organisers must be hoping.