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Submitted by ctv_en_1 on Tue, 11/14/2006 - 11:30
In the context of deep integration, APEC businesses are coping with a number of challenges, including changes in the int'l financial and monetary market, fluctuation in the prices of materials and fuel, and rapid sci-tech development. One of the effective solutions is to further increase cooperation among APEC businesses for sustainable development.

The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) opens its plenary session in Hanoi on November 14. This is not only an important event during the APEC 2006 Economic Leaders’ Week but also a major opportunity for the business community to hold dialogues with APEC leaders about difficulties in the investment and business process.


The session includes four topics: “Advancing the Busan Roadmap to Achieve the Bogor Goals”, “Building Prosperity Together through Economic and Technical Cooperation and Shared Development”, “Fostering a Secure and Favourable Environment for Trade and Investment”, “Promoting APEC Linkages and “Fostering Closer APEC-ABAC Relations.”


Since early this year, ABAC has organised three sessions in Singapore, Canada and the Philippines. At this final session, it will summarise and draw up a 2006 ABAC report for submission to the 14th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting scheduled for November 18-19.


The report covers nine major recommendations with a focus on resuming the World Trade Organisation (WTO)’s Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations, taking measures to cope with imbalances in energy and oil prices, promoting bilateral and sub regional trade agreements and trade facilitation, removing difficulties to develop the private economic sector, reinforcing the risk control systems, enhancing the regional financial system, encouraging investment inflows and promoting technology innovations.


Regarding Vietnam’s ABAC initiatives, president of ABAC 2006 Hoang Van Dung said, “ We has proposed building an Asia-Pacific free trade area relating to all enterprises, especially Vietnamese enterprises’ market opening. A proposal for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been made as it is related to capital and evaluation of enterprises’ confidence.


Some 40,000 enterprises are established in Vietnam annually and approximately 250,000 enterprises are operating in the country. Therefore, it is important to evaluate enterprises’ confidence to help them seek partners and borrow capital from banks. In addition, human resource development is also an issue of our interest.”


Most enterprises in APEC are SMEs and the number of SMEs in some APEC member economies even make up 95 percent of their total enterprises.


Annually, SMEs in APEC contribute an average of around US$1,000 billion to the regional economy, accounting for 30 percent of the bloc’s trade values. However, they are facing a lot of difficulties in doing business and production activities, particularly in gaining access to credit capital inflows and international trade-related knowledge.


According to economic researchers, an SME needs around US$300,000 to start up its business. Of the sum, one third is mobilised through banks and credit organisations.


Virginia Little-John, executive director of US Quantrum Leaps company, said investment capital will remain an important factor for enterprises and this issue will need a great deal of effort. She said APEC SME management agencies should be fully aware of difficulties in mobilising capital for SMEs. This is posing a challenge for Vietnam, particularly after the country became a member of the World Trade Organisation. To overcome this challenge, it is necessary to find a suitable orientation for the current development in Vietnam, not just to copy all measures from other economies, Ms Litte-John said.


In the context of deep integration, APEC businesses are having to cope with a number of challenges, including changes in the international financial and monetary market, fluctuation in the prices of materials and fuel, rapid development of science and technology, which will require proper investments to renew technology, improve human resources and sharpen competitiveness. One of the effective solutions is to further increase cooperation among APEC businesses for sustainable development.


Do Van Hau, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation, said the meeting is a great opportunity for Vietnamese SMEs to strengthen international cooperation and integration. For APEC SMEs entering Vietnam, the meeting will be an opportunity for them to define major orientations and policies for long-term cooperation development.


To achieve the Bogor Goals of trade and investment liberalisation, the APEC business community has asked APEC member economies to strongly implement a number of domestic solutions, including improving the legal frameworks and institutions, practising the law-governed mechanism, reducing administrative procedures, investing in infrastructure and improving working conditions. It has called for improvement of information supply and access to information channels and financial resources to help business, particularly SMEs, build new capabilities and gain better access to technology in trade and investment in each APEC member economy and in the world.

 

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