BUSINESS leaders from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) member-economies will propose a range of initiatives to better facilitate inclusive growth and provide equal access to opportunities to all enterprises at their upcoming summit in Manila in November.
In a statement, the Apec Business Advisory Council (Abac) stressed the urgency of addressing policy-induced distortions and structural impediments to trade and investments in the Asia Pacific, as a way to drive prosperity in the region.
“The opportunities we all seek to create jobs and achieve greater prosperity for everyone—man, woman, and child, in all Apec economies—will be possible if we eliminate barriers to trade and investment faced by both big and small businesses alike,” said Abac 2015 chair Doris Magsaysay Ho.
“Abac has placed priority on developing the services sector, which is the single biggest contributor to employment (at 46 percent), and output (70 percent) in Apec economies, as well as offering significant opportunities for MSMEs. Most of the barriers to the growth of services are structural in nature and will require ambitious policy and regulatory reform,” Ho said.
Among the initiatives that Abac members will propose to Apec leaders include facilitating physical, human and institutional connectivity; creating robust and inclusive financial systems; promoting access to global markets of micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs; enhancing participation in global value chains; and strengthening services sectors.
With MSMEs accounting for 97 percent of enterprises and up to 90 percent of employment in individual Apec economies, Abac will also call for further efforts to address barriers inhibiting the participation of MSMEs in cross-border trade. Focus areas included leveraging e-commerce, taking steps to enhance access to finance and boosting innovation through partnerships and networking among innovation systems, the group added.
“The Free Trade Area of the Pacific, which Abac first proposed 10 years ago, is the most practical vehicle to achieve the kind of sustainable and inclusive environment that our Leaders envisioned when they created Apec in 1989,” Ho said.
“Abac will provide the business perspective in the design of the road map toward the realization of the FTAAP, initiated in Beijing last year. We support the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the Pacific Alliance as pathways to the future FTAAP,” Ho added.