APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) has submitted a recommendation ”
Developing partnership and bridgehead for development ” to APEC
Summit 2013 in Bali (Indonesia) on October 1-8, 2013. Ahead of the
event, The Vietnam Business Forum interviewed Hoang Van Dung, Standing
Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)
and Chairman of ABAC Vietnam.
* What is the recommendation of ABAC to APEC Summit 2013?
In spite of economic improvement this year, ABAC is still concerned
over the instability of the world economy in capital flow and unstable
financial market in the Asia-Pacific region. Much needs to be done to
reactivate Asia-Pacific economy in the world economic growth. ABAC is
committed to APEC support in infrastructure and partnership to develop
regional integration and believes that APEC should develop a more
effective agenda on trade, investment, service and financial markets for
comprehensive and stable growth. Therefore, ABAC calls on APEC leaders
to grant women more power to develop their talent for the prosperity of
everyone.
Big investment by APEC to infrastructure
is essential to maintaining growth and ensuring opportunities for
Asia-Pacific economies to integrate into regional and world markets.
Those economies cannot fill the gap in infrastructure without the
participation of the private sector. APEC should have more savings and
creative financial agreements. The lack of infrastructure projects and
delay in PPP projects are causes of concern for investors. ABAC stands
ready to make joint effort in developing a list of infrastructure
investments and ensuring Asian-Pacific Investment Partnership (APIP).
To reactivate regional economic growth, it is
necessary to increase payment, integration and stability of the
financial market. Last year, ABAC proposed the establishment of
Asia-Pacific Financial Forum (APFF) as a regional foundation to promote
cooperation between related officials and institutions to develop
regional financial markets. ABAC calls on APEC economies to approve the
establishment of APFF.
APEC economies will get
biggest benefit from competitiveness in service with reform in national
management and improvement in investment and liberalisation of border
trade in service. Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) will
benefit from such those reforms. Inefficient service and high price are
impediments to growth and competitiveness in international market. ABAC
called for continued efforts to reduce transaction fees and improve
demand-supply chain at least 10 percent by 2015.
In
face of inclination in FDI, ABAC recommended APEC leaders to ensure that
their economies are open to cross-border investments and encourage FDI
as driving force for stable growth and employment.
ABAC welcomed APEC strategy and road map on food security aiming at
establishing a food structure by 2020. It requires significant
public-private cooperation. ABAC calls on APEC leaders to take steps to
implement successfully the road map.
Concerning
frame agreement on APEC partnership to promote regional integration in
the interest of Asia-Pacific businesses and community even after the
achievement of Bogor objectives, ABAC wishes to increase cooperation
with APEC on main priorities and objectives. Final outcome of regional
partnership will be the achievement of a Free Trade Area in Asia-Pacific
(FTAAP). ABAC encourages APEC economies to negotiate in line with final
goal of achieving FTAAP and APEC cooperation, ensuring participation
and interest of businesses.
* As trade liberalisation and investment are main concerns of businesses, what are ABAC recommendations this time?
ABAC believes that WTO continues to be the foundation of global and
regional trade. However, to ensure business confidence in WTO, it is
important that the 9th WTO ministerial meeting in Bali in December 2013
should agree on solution package on Doha negotiation. ABAC calls on
APEC to play its role in promoting Doha solution package and supporting
enlarged negotiation on IT agreement in WTO. APEC should find way to
global community by promoting trade liberalization and regional
investment. ABAC calls for big steps towards FTAAP, including biggest
participation possible in FTAAP initiatives.
ABAC
also calls on APEC economies to continue their efforts in promoting
capacity building to remove hurdles to FDI and application of efficient
management to facilitate trade and investment. ABAC continues to assist
APEC in local manufacturing of products to promote employment and
economic growth, for instance, creating a favourable environment to
attract FDI with fair, accountable, transparent and unified regulations
and tax rates. To ensure efficient monitoring of Bogor process, ABAC
recommended APEC to apply APEC chart of annual or bi-annual basis.
* The development of SMMEs in Asia-Pacific was discussed in previous meetings. What is ABAC recommendation this time?
SMMEs account for over 90 percent of businesses in APEC region. The
development of SMMEs is always the high priority of APEC policy. ABAC
calls on APEC to adopt a comprehensive approach to promote SMME growth.
New financial measures should narrow down the credit gap for SMMEs in
the region. According to IFC, at least 45 percent of SMMEs in emerging
markets are without and 21 percent SMMEs with inadequate assistance. In
global scale, the credit gap is between 1,300 billion USD and 1,600
billion USD. ABAC calls on APEC to broaden credit access of banking and
non-banking, venture investment funds, initial ” seed ” investment
funds, capital flow, credit offices and financial regulations such as
Basel regulation of risk evaluation.
In addition,
ABAC calls for policies to encourage businesses and develop new
businesses as well as new-type businesses. APEC economies should promote
Internet technology, assisting SMME development and access to world
market. Capacity-building initiatives such as APEC Summit on SME are
most helpful. ABAC calls on APEC economies to encourage and assist the
organisation of such summit.-VNA