Nikkei Asia300 Global Business Forum on Sharpening Asia’s Competitive Edge

Bangkok
07th October 2016

In partnership with Nikkei, the ASEAN Business Club supported the Nikkei Asia300 Global Business Forum (NGBF) held on 7^th October in Bangkok, Thailand to commemorate Nikkei’s 140^th anniversary this year.

Tan Sri Dr. Munir Majid, president of the ASEAN Business Club participated in NGBF as one of the panelist in a panel themed “Assessing the ASEAN Economic Community’s impact”. Other panelist, include Chartsiri Sophonpanich, President and Director of Bangkok Bank and Truong Gia Binh, Chairman of FPT Vietnam.

Tan Sri Dr. Munir Majid, president of the ASEAN Business Club, said 97% of companies in ASEAN are SMEs that are often perceived as “losers” in economic integration in contrast to large corporations and conglomerates with multiple production bases across the region.

“If [SMEs] fail as a result of integration, a lot of people will be thrown out of work and there will be social issues,” warned Majid, urging ASEAN policy makers to step up their efforts to address this issue on a regional scale.

Chartsiri Sophonpanich, president of Bangkok Bank and co-chair of ABC Thailand, said while some businesses are showing “remarkable frustration” at the pace of financial liberalization in the region, including the free movement of capital, he remained optimistic that “more change will come over the years.”

Source: Nikkei Asian Review