23 November 2008
Singapore Assumes Chairmanship of APEC and ABAC in 2009
The conclusion of the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru this week also saw the handing over of the APEC and ABAC Chairmanship to Singapore in 2009.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong takes over the Chairmanship of APEC from President Alan Garcia of Peru.
APEC 2009 will focus on accelerating trade and investment facilitation, improving the ease of doing business, and enhancing connectivity in the region, issues described as "on the border", "behind the border" and "across the border".
Mr. Teng Theng Dar, CEO of the Singapore Business Federation, takes over the Chair of ABAC from his Peruvian counterpart, Mr. Juan Raffo, Chairman of the Raffo Group.
ABAC 2009 will focus on building a strong and cohesive Asia-Pacific business community to accelerate regional economic integration, champion the need for a model of sustainable development to support growth, and strengthen capacity building and enhancing connectivity.
The first ABAC Meeting for 2009 will be held in Wellington, New Zealand, from the 9-12 February 2009.
Have your say by emailing us at abacsg@sbf.org.sg.
23 November 2008
APEC Leaders Reaffirm Commitment Towards Free Trade
The Leaders of the 21 APEC economies released a statement at the end of their annual APEC Summit in Lima, Peru to address the current state of the global economy.
Leaders said that despite having already taken urgent and extraordinary steps to stabilize the financial sectors and strengthen economic growth and promote investment and consumption, an important element in dealing with the current crisis concerns with maintaining free markets and openness of the economy.
Referring to the Washington Declaration issued by the G20 Leaders a week earlier, APEC Leaders mirrored the commitments of their counterparts in renouncing protectionism and abstaining from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services within the next 12 months.
In the statement, Leaders also expressed their wish to see an immediate and successful conclusion to the WTO Doha Development Agenda, as well as reaffirm their commitment towards APEC’s goals of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific.
Earlier, APEC Leaders also issued their annual Leaders?Declaration. Under the theme of “A New Commitment to Asia-Pacific Development? APEC aims to reduce the gap between developed and developing member economies, to strengthen the social dimension of globalization and ensure that all members of the community can participate in and benefit from regional and global trade and investment.
To read the 2008 APEC Leaders' Declaration, please click here.
To read the APEC Leaders' Statement on the Global Economy, please click here.
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Have your say by emailing us at abacsg@sbf.org.sg.
22 November 2008
Business Leaders Told that APEC Provides Opportunities Amid Crisis
Chief executives and senior businessmen from some of the biggest companies across the Asia-Pacific region were told that despite the ongoing global economic crisis, it was the perfect opportunity for APEC to show its relevance and prove its importance as a regional economic organisation. The business leaders, who numbered 1,000, were participants at the annual APEC CEO Summit which was held in Lima, Peru on the 21-22 November 2008.
This annual keynote event in the APEC calendar draws political and business leaders, policy makers and academics from the Asia-Pacific region together to debate and deliberate on pressing issues that face the regional and global economy.
Over the two day program, delegates listened to and engaged with 12 APEC Leaders and many other distinguished panelists from the Asia-Pacific region who spoke at length on topics ranging from the global trading regime, coping with globalization, sustainable development, the rise of the Asian and Latin American economies, the current global economic and financial crisis and the impact and influence of APEC as a regional organization.
A common message that arose from the Summit was that economies should not allow the current grim economic outlook to prevent APEC from furthering its goals of economic and developmental cooperation. While there is a need to re-examine the current global economic system, Leaders expressed caution towards over regulation in the financial markets and against restrictive trade measures.
Instead, the opportunity is presented to the regional community to forge closer ties in pursuing sustainable and equitable economic development and to alleviate poverty.
Some of the Leaders who spoke at the Summit include President Alan Garcia of Peru, President Hu Jintao of China, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia and President George W. Bush of the United States.
Have your say by emailing us at abacsg@sbf.org.sg.
22 November 2008
ABAC Members Conclude 2008 with a Dialogue with APEC Leaders
The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) held its fourth and final meeting for 2008 in Lima, Peru from the 17 - 20 November 2008. Rounding of the 2008 work year was the ABAC dialogue with APEC Leaders on 22 November 2008.
Council members presented Leaders with the 2008 ABAC Report and had the opportunity to discuss with APEC Leaders, the issues of concern to the Asia-Pacific business community.
High on the agenda of the Council members were the current global economic crisis. Turmoil in the financial markets has now spread to the real economy, affecting businesses and the loss of employment.
In delivering a response to the crisis, Council members urged APEC Leaders to adopt both short term monetary policy to improve liquidity in the financial markets, and long term fiscal policies and institutional reforms to stimulate aggregate demand and strengthen the financial market architecture.
It was concluded that it is crucial for APEC governments to refrain from over regulation in the market place and protectionist policies that might further stifle economic activity and international trade, thereby slowing down the process of recovery.
Apart from pushing for an immediate and successful conclusion to the WTO’s Doha Development Agenda, APEC Leaders were also urged to endorse the Washington Declaration announced by the G20 Leaders at their Summit last week that expressed their commitment to refrain from adopting protectionist trade measures over the next 12 months.
To read the ABAC 2008 Report to APEC Leaders, please click here.
To read the Press Release on the 4th ABAC Meeting 2008, please click here.
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Have your say by emailing us at abacsg@sbf.org.sg.
17 November 2008
Asia-Pacific SME Entrepreneurs Gather at the ABAC SME Summit 2008
The second instalment of the ABAC SME Summit 2008 was held in Lima, Peru on 17 November 2008 as part of the APEC Summit 2008.
Held twice yearly, the Summit brings together entrepreneurs from the 21 APEC economies and aims to profile SMEs and showcase their innovations, competitiveness and dynamic spirit.
The Summit saw the participation of 1,000 businessmen from the Asia-Pacific region, with the majority of them Peruvian small and medium entrepreneurs.
Under the theme “Opportunities and Challenges for the SMEs in APEC? the Summit. The Summit focused on the following topics
a. The importance of using technology to do businesses with foreign markets
b. The development of SMEs towards internationalization
c. The opportunities and challenges in financing for SMEs
The aim was to discuss and establish an approach to help SMEs cope with globalization and the international financial crisis and participants benefitted from learning ways to improve their businesses in order to survive in increasingly competitive and challenging markets.
The Summit boasted a group of distinguished and inspirational speakers, which included H.E. Dr. Alan Garcia, President of Peru; H.E. Elena Conerno, Minister of Production of Peru; Mr. Jack Ma, President of Alibaba Group; and Dr. Luis Enrique Garcia, Executive Chairman of CAF, among others.
The 4th and 5th editions of the ABAC SME Summit will be held in Hangzhou, China and Singapore in 2009
Have your say by emailing us at abacsg@sbf.org.sg.
17 October 2008
Protectionism: A Stumbling Block to APEC Regional Economic Integration
Over 200 senior officials and business leaders from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathered in Singapore over two days for the APEC Singapore 2009 Symposium to discuss priority issues that will help set the agenda for APEC in 2009.
Among the issues discussed, protectionism was singled out as a key stumbling block to achieving regional economic integration. This is according to keynote speaker Robert Lawrence, professor of international trade and investment at Harvard University.
Speaking on the protectionist tendencies of many countries, he said "We've seen in the Doha Round that we haven't been able to get an agreement. And many of the problems that we see in the Doha Round are present in APEC countries."
There is hope, however, for APEC, as the regional grouping seeks to maintain itself as a complementary platform to the WTO. Professor Lawrence was quoted as saying that APEC's comparative advantage over other regional forums lies in it being a model for cooperation rather than one based on concessions like the WTO. Continuing dialogue beyond legal commitments and focusing on the practical measures help APEC to stay relevant.
Other topics discussed over the two day symposium included ways to create a pro-business environment and enhancing physical connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region.
Have your say by emailing us at abacsg@sbf.org.sg.
29 August 2008
APEC Ministers Endorse Plan to Ensure SME Growth
APEC Ministers responsible for Small and Medium Enterprises agreed to promote policy, business and regulatory environments that foster the establishment, growth and development of MEs and SMEs through a new four-year SME Working Group Strategic Plan 2009 - 2012. This was endorsed at their annual meeting from 28 - 29 August in Chiclayo, Peru.
Six key priorities have been identified for the APEC SME Working Group to focus on for the next four years. These priority areas include:
i. Business Environment
ii. Building Management Capability and Promoting Entrepreneurship
iii. Market Access and Internationalization
iv. Innovation
v. Financing
vi. Raise Awareness of Sustainable Business Practices
These development strategies cover economic, social and labor aspects, and create a good governance framework conducive to SME development.
Singapore's representative at the meeting, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi-Shyan, was quoted as saying that APEC members should continue to help SMEs build up their expertise in order to embrace competition.
"The surest way to destroy SMEs is to protect them from competition", he said.
To read the Joint Ministerial Statement at the 15th APEC Small and
Medium Enterprise Ministerial Meeting, please
click here. |
Have your say by emailing us at abacsg@sbf.org.sg.
6 August 2008
Small Businesses Matter
The influence of Small and Medium Enterprises will increase exponentially as globalization and regional economic integration facilitates cross border trade and labour mobility. A healthy economic environment will depend on the ability of policy makers to make adequate provisions for the growth of SMEs. This was one of the conclusions at the 3rd APEC Business Advisory Council Meeting held in Hangzhou, China from the 6 - 8 August 2009.
SMEs make up 95 percent of all businesses in the Asia-Pacific region and employ 80% of the workforce, therefore they must stay dynamic and innovative to ensure that the overall economy stays competitive and thriving.
At the meeting, ABAC members proposed that APEC should implement three support programmes for helping SMEs achieve growth:
1. A Technological Infrastructure Programme to help SMEs leverage on IT to increase productivity
2. A Financing Capacity Building Programme to establish a sound framework to provide SMEs with adequate access to finance.
3. An SME Training Programme to improve the overall management capabilities of SMEs.
Also held along the sidelines of the ABAC Meeting was the 2nd ABAC SME Summit, co-organised by ABAC and the Alibaba Group. The two day summit and trade show brought together entrepreneurs from across the Asia-Pacific region to network and learn from each other's developmental experience, as well as offered them a chance to explore new business opportunities and expand their business internationally.
View pictures of the 3rd ABAC Meeting here.
Have your say by emailing us at abacsg@sbf.org.sg.
