Horasis convened the 2018 Horasis Asia Meeting in Binh Duong New City, Vietnam, over 25-26 November. The event was co-hosted by Binh Duong Province, Becamex IDC Corp. and VSIP Group. The Horasis Asia Meeting brought together over 500 of the foremost leaders from across Asia. Download the report and visit the photo gallery.
According to Trinh Dinh Dung, Deputy Prime Minister, Vietnam, Vietnam is ASEAN’s rising star, approaching 7% economic growth in 2018 and the years to come. ‘At the core of Vietnam’s economic development model is a strategy based on science-technology and innovation. Vietnam is using technology to benefit its businesses and people,’ he said. ‘Binh Duong Province is attracting investors from all around the world,’ emphasized Tran Thanh Liem, Chairman, Binh Duong People’s Committee, Vietnam. ‘Binh Duong is Vietnam’s emerging gateway for technology, trade and services is well positioned to serve as commercial hub for the ASEAN economies.’
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| Trinh Dinh Dung, Deputy Prime Minister, Vietnam | Grand Opening of the Horasis Asia Meeting |
In a special address, Supachai Panitchpakdi, former Secretary-General, UN Conference on Trade and Development, (UNCTAD), Thailand, highlighted ASEAN’s efforts to boost economic integration and to strengthen the open and rules-based multilateral trading system. He emphasized that ASEAN is embarking on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a major trade arrangement involving ASEAN and six trading partners. According to Thet Thet Khine, Member of Parliament, Myanmar, the completion of the RCEP will create the world’s largest trading bloc, covering one-third of global gross domestic product and a quarter of its exports.
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| Plenary panel on the economic outlook | Supachai Panitchpakdi, Former Secretary-General, UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Thailand |
Delegates agreed that ASEAN and the rest of Asia are increasingly interconnected, creating a host of new opportunities by fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. ‘Having just celebrated 50 years of deepening unity and rising wealth, the 10 nations of ASEAN are poised to craft a compelling vision for its future generations in a connected age,’ said Kelvin Teo, Chief Executive Officer, Sembcorp Development Ltd, Singapore. According to Truong Gia Binh, Chairman, FPT Corporation, Vietnam, ASEAN should foster a global recovery provided nations co-operate and embrace globalization. ‘We are closely watching the current spat between China and the U.S over trade, and we hope that the two countries will soon find an agreement,’ opined Johan Nyvene, Chief Executive Officer, Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation, Vietnam. According to Juan Jose Guemes, Chairman of Entrepreneurship, IE Business School, Spain, ‘supply chains have become so globalized with China at the centre of global manufacturing, that every country that is part of this chain will be affected.’ Jouko Ahvenainen, Founder and Executive Chairman, Grow VC Group, USA, said that the potential effect of those trade measures will indeed be felt globally. ‘Japan is increasingly investing in ASEAN economies,’ commented Ken Shibusawa, Chief Executive Officer, Shibusawa and Company, Japan. ‘We are here to make a sustainable contribution to ASEAN and the whole of Asia, he added.
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| Kelvin Teo, CEO, Sembcorp Development Ltd, Singapore | Johan Nyvene, CEO, Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation |
Delegates reflected on the current state of infrastructure investments, from a regional and global point of view. Harshavardhan Neotia, Chairman, Ambuja Neotia Group, India, noted that infrastructure development precedes economic gains. ‘Presently a massive economic stimulus is guided by China through its Belt & Road (B&R) initiative,’ as Wang Dong, Secretary General, The Pangoal Institution, China put it. ‘We must not forget the fundamental infrastructures of education, the delivering and disposal of clean and dirty waters from conurbations and the delivery of electricity telecoms to support leisure, learning and trade,’ added Diana Mao, President, NomiNetwork, USA.
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| Signing of MOU between Becamex and Nitol-Niloy Group | Wang Dong, Secretary General, The Pangoal Institution, China |
The annual Horasis Asia Meeting is Asia’s premier gathering of the region’s most senior leaders from business and government. The meeting is poised to be the ideal platform to explore and advance regional cooperation, impact investing and sustainable growth. The location of the meeting rotates annually and recently has been held in Bangkok, Thailand (2016), Kolkata, India (2017) and Binh Duong New City, Vietnam (2018). With this meeting Horasis aims to present a systemic view of activities affecting the drivers of Asia’s economic success and how Asian businesses interact regionally as well as globally.
The co-chairs were:
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Jouko Ahvenainen, Founder and Executive Chairman, Grow VC Group, USA |
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Anson Chan, Chairman, Bonds Group of Companies, Hong Kong SAR |
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Juan Jose Guemes, Chairman Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center, IE Business School, Spain |
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Rajive Kaul, Chairman, Nicco Group, India |
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Thet Thet Khine, Member of Parliament, Myanmar |
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Don Lam, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, VinaCapital, Vietnam |
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Nguyen Van Hung, Group Executive Chairman, Becamex IDC, Vietnam |
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Huynh Quang Hai, Group Executive Director, VSIP Group, Vietnam |
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Diana Mao, President, NomiNetwork, USA |
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Harshavardhan Neotia, Chairman, Ambuja Neotia Group, India |
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Johan Nyvene, Chief Executive Officer, Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation, Vietnam |
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Mohan Das Pai, Chairman, Manipal Global Education, India |
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Pham Hong Hai, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Vietnam, Vietnam |
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Prinn Panitchpakdi, Governor, Stock Exchange of Thailand, Thailand |
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Ken Shibusawa, Chief Executive Officer, Shibusawa and Company, Japan |
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Tan Yinglan, Founding Managing Partner, Insignia Ventures Partners, Singapore |
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Kelvin Teo, Chief Executive Officer, Sembcorp Development Ltd, Singapore |
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Truong Gia Binh, Chairman, FPT corporation, Vietnam |
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Wang Dong, Secretary General, The Pangoal Institution, China |
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Bryan Yang, Chief Executive Officer, Inspiration Inc., China |
Co-host:
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| BECAMEX-APEC |
‘Kolkata is India’s gateway to ASEAN and the whole of Asia’
Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister, West Bengal, India
‘Asia represents a huge potential global growth engine to the world economy. Bangladesh, in particular, is hitting record growth figures’
Tofael Ahmed, Minister of Commerce, Bangladesh
‘The ‘Act East Policy’ is the biggest enabler of economic development for North East India‘
Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Minister, Assam, India
‘Myanmar’s economy is rebounding and macroeconomic imbalances are stabilizing with growth expected to be around 7 percent in 2018’
Zaw Myint Maung, Chief Minister, Mandalay Region, Myanmar
‘The Horasis Asia Meeting is poised to be the ideal platform to explore and advance regional cooperation, impact investing and sustainable growth’
Supachai Panitchpakdi, Former Secretary-General, UN Conference on Trade and Development, (UNCTAD), Thailand
‘Today we stand together as Asia‘
Shashwat Goenka, President, Indian Chamber of Commerce, India
‘Positive demographics and rising incomes shall advance Asia’s present growth narrative’
Timothy Ong, Chairman and Founder, Asia Inc Forum, Brunei.
‘All Southeast Asian economies are enjoying a robust growth resurgence’
Huynh Quang Hai, Chief Executive Officer, VSIP Group, Vietnam