CEBU CITY—The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Business Advisory Council (Abac) has made key recommendations that seek to modernize the region’s markets. The Abac is hoping that these proposals would be included by Apec finance ministers in the Cebu Action Plan.
The recommendations are divided into key areas: financing of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and supply chains; expansion of financial inclusion; microinsurance; disaster-risk financing; bankable infrastructure projects; expansion of the role of the insurance and pension industries in regional development; development and integration of capital markets; and the Asia Region Funds Passport.
“We believe that Apec has an important role to play in addressing the causes of these uncertainties by promoting the inclusive and broad-based growth that will transform the entire Asia-Pacific region into a strong and resilient engine of the global economy,” the Abac wrote to Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima, who is the chairman of the Apec Finance Ministers’ Meeting.
In financing MSMEs, the Abac said it endorsed the proposal to establish a public-private Financial
Infrastructure Development Network to build credit-information systems for secured transactions and the use of movable assets as collateral.
The Abac also recommended initiatives to promote enabling environments for trade and supply-chain finance, as well as the use of alternative financing mechanisms.
To expand financing inclusion, the Abac also proposed a new regional framework on financial inclusion, apart from supporting the proposal to use the Asia-Pacific Forum to further policy innovations.
The Abac said the regional model framework will help support Apec member-economies design domestic financial-inclusion strategies through public-private partnerships (PPP) and by discussing digital-finance issues.
The group also endorsed the proposal to use the Asia-Pacific Financial Forum (APFF) as a platform to expand the coverage of microinsurance in member-economies.
Apart from this, Abac said the APFF can also be used to develop sound financial and insurance markets to secure public trust in disaster-risk finance products. The APFF, Abac said, can also be used as a platform for sharing experiences in retirement-income reforms; improving capital-market depth and liquidity in the region; and regional public-private sector dialogue.
The Abac also supported the creation of a pipeline of bankable infrastructure projects. This pipeline will be developed through the Apec PPP Experts Advisory Panel, the Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Partnership; the Global Infrastructure Hub; and the Urban Infrastructure Network.
“In addition, we propose broad collaboration across Apec fora on cross-cutting initiatives that impact the financial sector. In particular, we suggest that finance ministers support the efforts of the Regional Investment Analytical Group in developing indicators to help enhance investment flows in the region, as well as Abac’s collaboration with the International Valuation Standards Council to improve valuation practices across Apec economies,” the Abac said.
Abac’s report endorsed the Cebu Action Plan, a multiyear road map for reforms that finance ministers will announce at their annual meeting on September 10 and 11 in Cebu.
Abac was created by Apec leaders in 1995 to be the primary voice of business in Apec. Each economy has three members who are appointed by their respective leaders. They meet four times a year in preparation for the presentation of their recommendations to the Leaders in a dialogue that is a key event in the annual Leaders’ Meeting.