Singapore (VNA) – The ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS)2018 is currently taking place in Singapore during November 12-13, drawing theparticipation of nearly 1,000 enterprises from ASEAN member states andpartners.

The event, revolving around thetheme of “Building Tomorrow, Connecting Today”, is part of the ongoing 33rd ASEAN Summit, from November 11-15.

In his remarks at the event, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loongstressed that ASEAN is a vibrant, interconnected region of 630 million people.It is already the sixth largest economy in the world and is projected to becomethe fourth largest by 2030 after the US, Europe, and China.

Describing ASEAN as an attractive destination for investment, Lee said that thebloc attracted some 140 billion USD in foreign direct investment last year.

“Technological change is also creating new business prospects, with the ASEANdigital economy projected to grow to 200 billion USD by 2025. This will bringabout many more opportunities for our micro-, small-, and medium-sizedenterprises, as well as more jobs for our young, educated workforce”, hestressed.

He affirmed that ASEAN leaders have committed to accelerating the issuance ofpolicies and initiatives to better conditions for the business community tothrive. More specifically, ASEAN member states inked the first protocol toamend the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement and the 10th and final package ofcommitments under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services.

In addition, the attending countries concluded the ASEAN Trade in ServicesAgreement and the fourth protocol to amend the ASEAN Comprehensive InvestmentAgreement; signed the ASEAN Agreement on e-Commerce; and endorsed the ASEANDigital Integration Framework towards making ASEAN more business-friendly for thee-commerce sector, he added.

ABIS 2018 placed focus on the discussion of important initiatives of the ASEANBusiness Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC), including cooperation in connecting theregion’s smart cities; dialogues amongst leaders to promote the issuance ofpolicies that link businesses, as well as endorse initiatives to facilitateenterprise integration; and cooperation with large partners like the US,Australia, India, Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea.

Leading some 80 Vietnamese firms, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (VCCI) Doan Duy Khuong said that Vietnam has a number ofinitiatives which support businesscommunities, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The ASEANcentre, now set up in each ASEAN country and displayed at the ABIS in 2010 whenVietnam was holding the ASEAN Chairmanship, is a notable one, he said, addingthat it created the premise for the implementation of Singapore’s ASEAN SmartCities Network this year, an ecosystem which creates favourable conditions for linksbetween localities and businesses.

The VCCI also picked up leading firms to join the ASEAN BAC, while joininghands with other member states to support SMEs in finding markets and choosingrational financial tools, he underlined.–VNA