Launching ASEAN Regional Business Council

Hanoi – On October 26, the ASEAN Regional Business Council (RBC) is launched in Hanoi, at the World Economic Forum on the Mekong Region (WEF-Mekong).

Comprising 25 ASEAN businesses and 30 global companies, the ASEAN RBC  will champion initiatives that call for trust and cooperation between the public and private sectors in the region.

Justin Wood (first in the left), Nazir Razak (second from the left) and other leaders of major companies at the press release.

Justin Wood (first in the left), Nazir Razak (second from the left) and other leaders of major companies at the press release.

Focus will be on building infrastructure, promoting cross-border trade and investment in ASEAN, developing a digital economy, examining the future of jobs and industry in the region and championing the principles of inclusive growth.

Justin Wood, Head of Asia-Pacific WEF said: “The goal of the RBC is to contribute to unlocking ASEAN’s outstanding potential. As the international organization for public-private cooperation, the forum is a platform where stakeholders in society can meet is an environment of trust and impartiality to debate important ideas and catalyse action”.

Nazir Razak, Chairman CIMB Group Holdings, Malaysia, is the inaugural chair of the ASEAN RBC. Mr Nazir Razak stressed: “Overcoming some of the biggest challenges in ASEAN depends on business and government working together. We want the ASEAN RBC to help present the voice of business to government so that we can collectively deliver positive impact in the region and ensure that the hundreds of millions of young people across ASEAN have the brightest possible future”.

Both Justin Wood and Nazir Razak noted that the RBC will work closely with business group in the region. The ASEAN Business Club will be involved in some of the ASEAN RBC’s work, notably to promote principles of economic intergration.

The World Economic Forum on the Mekong Region meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam brings together 180 leading representatives from major multinationals, large ASEAN and Asia-Pacific companies, as well as academia and civil society.

The host country, Vietnam as well as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand are represented by heads of state, heads of government of senior ministerial delegations.  

By Huyen Chi

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