APEC Finance Ministers to launch new 5-year roadmap in October

New Straits Times

a day ago

KUALA LUMPUR: The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers' Meeting, set for October, will unveil a new roadmap to replace the Cebu Action Plan.
Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying shared that the roadmap would establish the priorities of the APEC Finance Ministers' Process for the next five years.
"It will identify initiatives and medium-term outcomes to be achieved to realise the Putrajaya Vision 2040 of an open, dynamic, resilient, and peaceful Asia-Pacific community.
"This roadmap will also include initiatives and outcomes aimed at supporting sustainable growth across the region.
"It is crucial for Asean member countries to collaborate closely within the APEC framework to ensure Southeast Asia's shared priorities are incorporated into the new APEC roadmap and to ensure all initiatives are complementary and consistent," she said during her keynote address at the ABAC-Asean BAC-APFF Southeast Asia Conference 2025.
She reaffirmed Malaysia's commitment to playing an active role, particularly through collaboration with the Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean-BAC), to promote regional financial integration and development.
She further noted that Malaysia anticipates valuable insights and recommendations from the "Financing Southeast Asia's Development Priorities" conference held as part of the event.
"This is alongside aspirations to facilitate the annual roundtable dialogue between APEC Finance Ministers and the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) in Incheon, South Korea, this coming October," she added.
The 2025 ABAC-Asean BAC-APFF Southeast Asia Conference convenes financial and business leaders to address critical challenges facing Asean and APEC and also spotlights pivotal themes such as sustainable energy access and financial digitalisation.
The event served as a platform to showcase regional successes, with speakers highlighting projects that exemplify effective public-private collaboration.
Building on the momentum of the 46th Asean Summit, the conference highlighted the interconnectedness of Asean's and APEC's strategic priorities.
The discussions aligned with Asean-BAC's 12-initiative roadmap, which includes advancing capital market integration and promoting sustainability frameworks.
Asean-BAC chairman Tan Sri Nazir Razak said that the programme aims to unite leaders, investors, and policymakers in a solutions-oriented dialogue on Asean's growth trajectory.
He also called for increased accountability and action from both the public and private sectors to drive economic integration in the region.
Highlighting the stagnant intra-Asean trade and investment, he stated, "When I imply the lack of execution in Asean, I am not just pointing at the regional organisation or governments for that matter. The private sector has also fallen short."
Nazir called fo the need for businesses to pursue partnerships, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and robust supply chain and trade activities, noting, "Intra-Asean trade and investments remain low as a percentage of total trade and investments."
"The surge in regional Asean companies of the late 2000s has slowed. Are we fulfilling our potential in attracting investors to Asean?"
"That is why this conference, themed 'Financing Southeast Asia's Development Priorities: Identifying Medium-Term Deliverables for Public-Private Collaboration', is so critical," he said.
"Asean needs to deepen and connect its capital markets to unlock the potential of domestic savings, attract global capital, and drive innovation," he said.