Services liberalisation
ABAC members from Hong Kong and the Philippines agreed to “champion” an ABAC initiative to improve awareness of the critical role of services in the region’s economies, and how important services are in creating jobs and economic growth in the future.
This initiative was given a “hot” start by two major conferences on services in May – one in Hong Kong at the Chinese University, and one in Manila organized by the World Bank. The outline of this initiative was framed in time for discussion at ABAC3 in Lima in August. ABAC HK and ABAC Philippines also tabled the initiative in outline to APEC officials at SOM3 meetings in San Francisco, and received very positive and encouraging feedback from APEC officials. A complete report was circulated and endorsed at ABAC4 in Honolulu, and was well-received by APEC officials. A final report was adopted by ABAC and submitted to APEC leaders at APEC Leaders Meeting in Honolulu in November.
What we have achieved? APEC officials have agreed to follow-up on issues arising from the study, initially in a special joint meeting of APEC’s Group on Services and Market Access Group in Moscow in February 2012. ABAC HK will continue to play a key role – leveraging on ABAC’s unique advisory role in the APEC forum - to lobby for APEC member economies’ attention and actions to prompt services liberalisation.
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ABAC 1 in Hong Kong in February 2012
Hong Kong has agreed to host the first ABAC meeting of 2012 – a year of Russian chairmanship - from February 21-24. In addition, APEC’s senior officials for trade will converge on Hong Kong and meet with ABAC, to discuss policy priorities for the year ahead.
What we have achieved? ABAC HK has raised its profile by proactively organising this meeting. HKTDC, Trade & Industry Department, the Tourism Board, the three ABAC members and the Trade Policy Group are working closely to ensure a successful event.
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Investment liberalisation
Hong Kong ABAC members have played a key role in amending and updating APEC’s Non-Binding Investment Principles (NBIP), which are intended to provide a “best practice” guide to opening economies to foreign investment.
What we have achieved? After years of efforts and vigorous lobbying of ABAC members, the NBIP was updated and agreed in the APEC Leaders meeting in Honolulu in November.
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Supply chain choke points
ABAC HK was requested to offer advice and research help to a regional ABAC research initiative on supply chain choke points in the APEC region, with a particular effort to put a cash cost on each key choke point.
What we have achieved? Early in May, 2011 meetings were organised in Hong Kong for three members of the Marshall School ABAC Research team. The research teams met with academics, leading companies engaged in sea and air logistics, industry associations, and supply chain management experts to understand the supply chain choke points in Hong Kong and identify the cost and challenges of the key choke points. Research findings were presented at the ABAC meeting in Honolulu
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Infrastructure-PPP Task Force
The Task Force was initiated out of the ABAC’s proposal to the APEC Leaders and Finance Ministers in 2010. An ABAC pool of experts, key business people in the region, are drawn together to advise ministers and high-level officials in candid closed-door dialogues on how they can make infrastructure PPP projects more attractive to the private sector, particularly on why they are failing to secure the private sector participation they seek in big infrastructure projects, and what they need to do to remedy this. As a key financial hub in the Asia Pacific and with strong finance calibre closely engaging infrastructure project financing, Hong Kong experts are participating closely in the process.
What we have achieved? Three sponsors have agreed to nominate specialists from their institutions who can join an ABAC pool of experts. After endorsement of 2011 activity by Finance Ministers in Honolulu in November, a number of Task Force Dialogues are now being planned with APEC economies for 2012.
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Code of Business Best Practice for the Construction Industry:
This initiative was initiated in May 2011 at the SOM2 meeting in Big Sky. It is a significant step in setting out best practice in the construction sector. As property development and construction sector is a pillar of the Hong Kong economy, this is not only of direct interest, but tackles the sector said to be the most corrupt of all sectors worldwide.
What we have achieved? The Hong Kong Construction Industry Council, and the Hong Kong Construction Association volunteered to participate in drawing up an APEC Code of Best Business Practice for the Construction Industry. The project was completed for endorsement in the Honolulu APEC leaders meeting in November, with substantial private sector input from Hong Kong. It is understood that Hong Kong’s guidelines for ethical conduct in this sector were drawn upon heavily in drafting the new APEC code, demonstrating Hong Kong’s increasing influence and leverage in APEC.
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Dialogue with the APEC Study Centres at HK’s universities
We believe that it is important to engage the academic community to share their research excellence and insights on APEC and trade-related issues.
What we have achieved? Since early in July, the Trade Policy Group has met regularly with professors from Hong Kong’s various APEC Study Centres to discuss the work they are doing of relevance to APEC, and how APEC/ABAC might assist. This engagement is set to intensify as the University of Hong Kong’s APEC Study Centre assumes responsibility for academic leadership for 2012 and 2013. In addition, links have been built with the newly-created Fung Global Institute, with the intention to explore future synergies
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Women in Business
Similar to APEC, ABAC put significant emphasis on the importance of women in business. This has been reflected in various ABAC activities, led by ABAC women members, actively engaging with women professionals in the region.
What we have achieved? The Trade Policy Group met in July 2011 with representatives of four of Hong Kong’s leading “Women in Business” organisations with the aim of arranging an event supported by ABAC in February 2012. This has successfully raised the awareness of the women in business groups in Hong Kong to the work of ABAC. In addition, we are also helping the recently-founded ABAC Women’s Forum to outreach to Hong Kong’s women in business groups during their participation in the ABAC1 meeting in Hong Kong in February.
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SME challenges
The challenges facing SMEs are a key priority of ABAC, as well as at the heart of HK ABAC members’ interests.
What we have achieved? HK ABAC Members and the Executive Director meet regularly with various SME representative bodies, including from the HKGCC and the British Chamber, to talk about the work APEC/ABAC are doing in this area, and to discover their key concerns. In addition, taking the opportunity of HK’s organising of ABAC1 in February 2012, Hong Kong is organising an APEC SME Summit, linked to ABAC 1, themed on Entrepreneurship.
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