Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 16): The Asean Business & Investment Summit (ABIS) is returning to Malaysia for its 12th edition, and will once again serve as the central platform for private sector input and discussions on economic issues in the region.

Organised by the Asean Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), the mandated private sector representative in Asean, ABIS 2015, will be held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, on Nov 20 and Nov 21.

To be officially launched by the 2015 Asean chair, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, it will feature distinguished addresses by the President of the United States, Barack Obama; the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe; and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

It will host more than 20 speakers from around the globe, including thought leaders, regional economists, key business players and other Asean experts.

Besides discussions involving current, as well as future economic and business issues, a number of Asean Economic Ministers will also discuss and review progress of the Asean Economic Community (AEC), said ASEAN-BAC in a statement today.
 
ABIS 2015 chairman Tan Sri Dr Munir Abdul Majid said the event is expected to attract some 800 participants, representing multi-national corporations, regional conglomerates and businesses from around the world.

“We are honored to have global political and economic leaders and partners — particularly the leaders of the US, Japan and India — join us in marking the Asean Community's increasing significance.

“The AEC is a requisite framework in the regional integration process and its progress will be the main topics discussed at ABIS, alongside the all-important post-2015 economic agenda for Asean," he added.

Themed “Business for the People”, ABIS 2015 will have designated discussions on the overarching issues of financial integration in the Asean economy, and prevailing people-centric issues such as the small and medium enterprises (SME) agenda, women, and young entrepreneurship, the statement read.

Additionally, post-2015 emphasis will be placed on the importance of innovation, digitalisation and sustainable development, taking into consideration their significant and long-term impact on the community-building process, it added.     

It also noted that ABIS 2015 will see the presentation of the 8th Asean Business Awards (ABA), the leading business success showcase programme, in recognition of regional business excellence.

This will be the first time ABA will be held in Malaysia and will incorporate 21 awards, including the recognition of SME Excellence and the identification of successful young and woman entrepreneurship; all award recipients will be announced at the ABA Gala Dinner on Nov 20.

There is a new category of “Friends of Asean” Awards to recognise the excellence of non-Asean multi-national corporations with a strong presence in the region, besides an inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award "contribution over the years to the realisation of the AEC".

ABA 2015 will also present another key Asean-BAC initiative, the inauguration of the Asean Young Entrepreneurs Council (AYEC).

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