(as at 7 November 2007)
2007 ASEAN BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT SUMMIT
16-18 November 2007, Singapore
One ASEAN At the Heart of Dynamic Asia
Organiser
ASEAN Chambers of Commerce and Industry East Asia Business Council
Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Singapore International Chamber of Commerce Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation
Day 1, Friday, 16 Nov
9.00 am – 5.00 pm Registration ( Venue: Suntec Singapore, registration counter, ground floor)
7.00 am – 1.00 pm Power golf (Raffles Country Club)
3.30 pm – 5.00 pm Future of ASEAN: In discussion with Eminent Persons
ASEAN is one of the most successful regional organisations today and 40 years after its establishment, the region is poised for a historic change. One of the primary components of the ASEAN Charter is working towards a People-Oriented ASEAN, including an integrated business community. Prominent figures who have made their mark in ASEAN such as H.E. Tun Musa Hitam, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia; H. E. Mr Ali Alatas, the former Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia; H.E. Mr Ong Keng Yong, ASEAN Secretary-General, have been invited to this session to share their vision and set the scene for the future direction of this promising region, especially with the forthcoming launch of the ASEAN Charter.
Participants will gain valuable insights about the future of ASEAN and how they may position themselves in the realisation of the ASEAN Economic Community.
Panel of Speakers
1) H.E. Tun Musa Hitam, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia 2) H.E. Mr Ali Alatas, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia 3) H.E. Mr Ong Keng Yong, ASEAN Secretary-General
Moderator: Assoc. Prof. Simon Tay, Chairman, Singapore Institute of International Affairs
Day 2, Saturday, 17 Nov
Session 1 Official Opening of 2007 ASEAN Business and Investment Summit
9.00 am – 9.15 am Welcome Remarks by Mr. Stephen Lee
Chairman, Singapore Business Federation (SBF)
9.15 am – 9.30 am Opening Remarks by Dr. Robert Yap
Chairman, ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC)
9.30 am – 9.50 am Speech by H.E. Mr. Ong Keng Yong Secretary-General of ASEAN
9.50 am – 10.20 am Keynote Address and Opening Ceremony of 2007 ASEAN-BIS
H.E. Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore
10.20 am – 10.40 am Coffee/Tea Break – Informal Business Networking
Session 2 Dynamic Asia
10.40 am – 12.30 pm Asia is driving global growth. Several drivers include: ASEAN, China, and India. In recent years, Asia’s economies are integrating rapidly with China, giving the region a big lift. The rise of China has also renewed ASEAN’s cost competitiveness.
Speakers at this session will provide insights on the growth drivers in Asia. Participants will benefit from a broader perspective on crucial developments affecting the region and discover forces that influence competitive dynamics and assess the opportunities for doing business in the region.
Panel of speakers
1) Lee Howell, Senior Director, Head of Asia and Head of Global Agenda, World Economic Forum
2) Anirudha Dutta, Senior Research Analyst, CLSA Group
3) Prof. Tan Kong Yam, Director, Asian Research Centre, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
4) Fang Ai Lian, Chairman, Ernst & Young Singapore
Moderator: Peter Birch, Immediate Past CEO, Electrolux Asia-Pacific
12.30 pm – 2.00 pm Lunch to be hosted by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) - Keynote address by Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia,
Session 3 ASEAN Integration in the Asian Landscape
2.00 pm – 3.30 pm With a market of more than half a billion people and GDP well over USD500 billion, ASEAN is a region that is strategically positioned among the Asian giants. While the potential is enormous, the challenges are also numerous. Finding ways to integrate their disparate economies remains a key challenge for the 10 members of ASEAN.
Speakers at this session will address ASEAN’s competitive edge vis-à-vis its integration in the global market, and the prospects for economic growth and development within Asia and beyond. Participants will hear of the initiatives that ASEAN governments have taken to ensure a greater level of economic integration and the role of the private sector in fostering public-private sector partnerships to leverage trade expansion with its bigger Asian neighbours.
Panel of speakers
1) Dato’ Syed Amin Aljeffri, Chairman, AljeffriDean Chartered Accountants; President, Malay Chamber of Commerce, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2) Haruhiko Kuroda, President, Asian Development Bank
3) Piyush Gupta, Managing Director, Head of ASEAN Markets & Banking, Citi Country Officer, Singapore
4) Daniel McHugh, Chief Executive Officer, DHL Express Asia Pacific
Moderator: Warren Fernandez, Deputy Editor & Foreign Editor, The Straits Times
3.30 pm – 3.50 pm Coffee/Tea Break – Informal Business Networking
Session 4 Rise of ASEAN and Asian MNCs
3.50 pm – 5.30 pm ASEAN, together with the rest of Asia, is entering an exciting new era of high growth. Strong economic fundamentals, diverse economic strengths, strong infrastructure support and pro-business policies have strengthened ASEAN’s global position. Simultaneously, rapid regional integration allows ASEAN to increasingly function as an integrated market, offering businesses with opportunities not found in other parts of the world. Despite ASEAN’s collective buoyancy however, China retains a higher foreign direct investments (FDI) portion than ASEAN, with India fast catching up. Statistics indicate that ASEAN’s overseas FDI are much higher than intra-ASEAN investment activities.
This session will address the prime forces driving business potential in ASEAN and Asia, reminding regional and international investors of the business community’s resolve to maintain its competitive edge, and the alacrity required to ensure the momentum of growth. The panel will consist of companies which have, since the 1997 financial crisis, contributed significantly to the process of positioning ASEAN and Asia. The ASEAN and Asian business experiences recounted will feature case studies of strategic moves amidst opportunities that beckon.
Panel of speakers
1) Dion Weisler, Vice President & General Manager for South Asia, Lenovo;
Day 3, Sunday, 18 Nov 2007
Special Session: In conversation with ASEAN Economic Ministers on
ASEAN Integration – Its opportunities and challenges
ASEAN’s competitive economic weaknesses and strengths call for progress towards an integrated regional market to offset size limitations on the one hand, and to create the regional advantages on the other. ASEAN Heads of State and Governments are conscious that individual ASEAN economies remain small, fragmented and are at different levels of economic development, thus impeding the regional integration process. The resolve to overcome these challenges becomes a prerequisite for member countries to ensure the continuous growth of ASEAN. In essence, ASEAN countries are markedly different in what each can offer one another and what they can offer collectively.
At this special session, potential investors will hear from ASEAN Economic Ministers on the national priority programmes and projects open for private sector participation. Such national priorities will include but are not limited to business and investment opportunities in the infrastructure, telecommunications and energy (including alternative energy sources) sectors, and other projects essential for sustaining national economic growth and regional competitiveness.
10.30 am–12.30 pm Participants will have a chance to interact with:
Panel of ASEAN Economic Ministers
1) H.E. Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore 2) H.E. Dr Mari Elka Pangestu, Minister of Trade, Indonesia
3) H.E. Dato’ Seri Rafidah Aziz, Minister of International Trade and Industry, Malaysia 4) H.E. Dr. Vu Huy Hoang, Minister of Industry and Trade, Vietnam
Moderator: Martin Soong, News Anchor, CNBC Asia Pacific
Special Session with Leaders of ASEAN
A key strategy of ASEAN to strengthen linkages with the world economy is to increase trade and economic ties with Asia’s major trade partners like China, India, Japan and the Republic of Korea. This accounts for ASEAN’s bold and concerted push for free trade agreements (FTA) with these important players to expand ASEAN production to leverage cheaper sources of capital and intermediate products, and to strengthen inter-regional investment links. However, this move is seen as drawing investments away from ASEAN.
At this Special Session with the Leaders from ASEAN and its dialogue partners, private sector business leaders will have the opportunity to hear about convergent strategic interests concerning FTAs and closer economic partnership frameworks, and why such trade negotiations will need to continue to realise the benefits and opportunities of ASEAN in Asia.
2.00 pm – 4.30 pm Keynote Addresses - Heads of State from ASEAN:
- His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei Darussalam (tbc)
- H.E. Mr Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia
- H.E. Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia (tbc)
- H.E. Mr Bouasone Bouphavanh, Prime Minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
- H.E. Mr Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Moderators: K. Kesavapany, Director, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies; Barry Desker, Dean, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
4.30 pm – 4.50 pm Coffee / Tea Break – Informal Business Networking
Closing Ceremony of 2007 ASEAN Business and Investment Summit
4.50 pm – 5.00 pm Closing Remarks by
H.E. Mr. Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry, Republic of Singapore
Announcement of next host country
ASEAN-BIS Gala Dinner
6.30 pm – 10.00 pm Gala Dinner and Presentation of ASEAN Business Awards (venue: Raffles Ballroom, Raffles City Convention Centre)
Guest-of-Honour
