Issues of Concerns of ABAC Responsible Groups

 

Several main discussions at the upcoming meetings are the measures to boost liberalisation of financial services, the measures to boost regional bond market, the second-phase study result on capital flow change impacts, the preliminary reports on small and medium enterprises (SMEs)’ abilities to approach financial resources, the development of the credit rating sector in Asia-Pacific region, the research on health security at APEC economies.

 

Holding the chairmanship of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), ABAC Vietnam is presiding over the implementation of two programmes, namely increasing SMEs’ abilities to approach financial resources and developing the credit rating sector in Asia-Pacific region. The reports on these programmes are expected to be represented at the APEC Finance Ministers Meeting to be held in Hanoi on September 2006. At present, more than 100 credit organisations and enterprises from 14 countries take part in the survey. The preliminary report was represented at the Financial Group Meeting – ABAC on May 11 in Montreal.

 

To initiate the Programme for developing the credit rating sector in Asia-Pacific region, ABAC Vietnam will cooperate with the Asian Bank Association and VCCI to host an international conference, dubbed Developing the Credit Rating Sector in APEC Region, in Hanoi in June 2006

 

 

The multilateral liberalisation process has brought considerable benefits to the entire region. However, the increasing number of regional trade agreements and free trade zones are complicating regional trade and investment activities. This group supports the compilation of the draft document and application of several models and norms to trade agreements and free trade regions. The members of the group also assessed the impacts of the National Treatment policy on the WTO process.

 

Issues of discussions and researches include: joint contributions to ABAC activities in the support of the WTO process; Regional trade agreements and free trade regions, statistics and appraisals of these agreements and regions within APEC; Trade facilitation and trade security (customs modernisation and anti-smuggling); and Investment liberalisation and facilitation.

 

 

The Group has cooperated with the Action Programme Implementation Pace Supervision Group to discuss the avian influenza and preventive preparation levels of the entrepreneur circle. Dr. Ian Shugart, Chairman of the APEC Health Group, has summarised efforts of regional governments and stressed that the current basic challenge is to increase the preparative ability of private economic sector, including the capacity to supply essential services. Mr. Roberto Romulo, Chairman of the Action Programme Implementation Pace Supervision Group, reported on efforts of ABAC in enhancing regional abilities to deal with disease pandemics. He also presented reports on ABAC Seminar held in Hong Kong on May 3. The seminar focused on the “Training training experts” principle to provide measures and experience for commerce chambers and enterprise associations to train their members, especially SMEs.

 

 

The members of the Group have debated negative impacts of fuel prices on the regional economies and urgencies to do research on alternative fuels. They have also discussed visions and joint principles to develop a clean and clear environment as well as the future of stable energy sources.

 

The Group’s programme comprise of increasing cooperation with the E-Commerce Group and Information and Telecommunication Group in bandwidth fields, differentiations in digital technology development levels, e-security, etc. The intellectual property protection is also a field of priority in the action programme of the group.

 

 

The Action Programme Implementation Pace Supervision Group has given recommendations for definition of programme objectives based on new cooperative mechanism with SOM. The Group also discussed the APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) programme. ABAC Japan has represented the research results on all sides of the ABTC system: friendly level, recognition level, procedure simplification level and waiting time. ABAC proposed printing manuals and handbooks for ABTC users, clerks, airline staff and related units. Currently, about 12,000 people have been granted the cards. 17 economies have taken part in the programme while four other economies of the US, Canada, Mexico and Russia have not participated in.