As many as 150 business leaders from Asia - Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies are gathering in Singapore for the second APEC Business Advisory Council Meeting (ABAC 2) of 2013.

During the event, which opened on April 3 and will run through to April 6, they will discuss the most current and pressing issues faced by businesses and offer recommendations to policymakers to facilitate trade and investment.

The Vietnamese delegation to the meeting is headed by Hoang Van Dung, Executive Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

ABAC 2 is one of the four ABAC meetings held during the Indonesian chairmanship in 2013, with the first in Manila (the Philippines ) in January. The third will take place in Kyoto ( Japan ) in July, and the last in Bali ( Indonesia ) in October.

The key deliverable for ABAC 2 is the development of an ABAC Letter to highlight the recommendations to the APEC Minister Responsible for Trade, to be held in Indonesia on April 20 – 21.

APEC member economies are Australia; Brunei; Canada; Chile; China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; the Philippines; Russia; Singapore; the Republic of Korea; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; the United States; and Vietnam.-VNA