Over 300 business executives from the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN) gathered at the ASEAN Business Club (ABC) Forum 2014 inSingapore on September 8-9 to tackle trade and industry issues andsupport the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in late2015.
In his opening speech, Singaporean Minister of Trade andTechnology Lim Hng Kiang stated that the integration is a turning pointfor ASEAN, and the bloc’s member states are continuously working towardsthe fast-approaching establishment of AEC, which will create a singlemarket and production base by 2015.
Tariffs were lifted on almostall the region’s goods, Kiang said, adding that ASEAN was ready to takeaction to remove the region’s non-tariff barriers.
The ministeralso underlined the important role ASEAN businesses played in shapingthe AEC thanks to their deep understanding of global value chains andthe region’s trade barriers.
Talking to Vietnam News Agencycorrespondents, former ASEAN Deputy Secretary General PushmanathanSundram said the AEC would make ASEAN a more open community, requiringregional governments to increase their support for national enterprises,particularly small and medium-sized firms, to help them improve theircompetitiveness.
ABC, a public initiative, aims to provide aforum for the region’s business leaders to establish links and buildpartnerships. It also seeks to improve the ASEAN business community’spreparations for AEC.
Participants focussed their discussions onsix key topics during the two-day forum, including laws and tariffs, theautomobile industry and manufacturing, financial services and capitalmarket, oil and gas exploitation, food and agriculture, and the retailmarket.
ASEAN comprises ten member states, including Indonesia,Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos,Myanmar and Vietnam.-VNA
In his opening speech, Singaporean Minister of Trade andTechnology Lim Hng Kiang stated that the integration is a turning pointfor ASEAN, and the bloc’s member states are continuously working towardsthe fast-approaching establishment of AEC, which will create a singlemarket and production base by 2015.
Tariffs were lifted on almostall the region’s goods, Kiang said, adding that ASEAN was ready to takeaction to remove the region’s non-tariff barriers.
The ministeralso underlined the important role ASEAN businesses played in shapingthe AEC thanks to their deep understanding of global value chains andthe region’s trade barriers.
Talking to Vietnam News Agencycorrespondents, former ASEAN Deputy Secretary General PushmanathanSundram said the AEC would make ASEAN a more open community, requiringregional governments to increase their support for national enterprises,particularly small and medium-sized firms, to help them improve theircompetitiveness.
ABC, a public initiative, aims to provide aforum for the region’s business leaders to establish links and buildpartnerships. It also seeks to improve the ASEAN business community’spreparations for AEC.
Participants focussed their discussions onsix key topics during the two-day forum, including laws and tariffs, theautomobile industry and manufacturing, financial services and capitalmarket, oil and gas exploitation, food and agriculture, and the retailmarket.
ASEAN comprises ten member states, including Indonesia,Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos,Myanmar and Vietnam.-VNA
