PBEC Appoints Anthony Chan as Vice Chair The Pacific Basin Economic Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Anthony Chan as Vice Chair, effective from the November 2025 Annual General Meeting. Anthony is Chief Executive Officer of Isola Capital and brings extensive experience in asset management across private equity, venture capital, private credit and liquid secondary strategies. His career spans investment banking, private investments and family office wealth management, with broad investment expertise across consumer, agricultural, industrial and technology…
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PBEC Board Defines Strategic Vision for 60th Anniversary Year 21 November 2025 The Pacific Basin Economic Council held its Annual General Meeting to chart a transformative course for 2026, marking the organization’s 60th anniversary with renewed ambition and strategic focus. The Board approved key governance matters, including the reappointment of three directors for new three-year terms and the appointment of a new Vice Chair. Audited financial statements were adopted, positioning the organization for growth with potential new corporate members on…
In 2024, APEC embarked on a journey to Peru under the theme of “Empower, Include, Grow”. Under this theme, we shared ideas on inclusive and interconnected growth, digitalization and innovation to promote formal and global economy, and sustainable growth for resilient development. These discussions culminated in the Leaders’ declaration in Lima in late November 2024. Now, the roadshow moves across the Pacific to Korea. Korea is holding APEC for the first time in 20 years. Last time was when the APEC Economic…
Executive Summary: Regional Economic Integration Building the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. The Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) is the best way to unlock the full potential of the region, by countering fragmentation and creating new opportunities for all. ABAC calls on APEC to build FTAAP from the top down through high-quality trade agreements and innovative recent sectoral initiatives on digital trade, sustainability and inclusion. In parallel, APEC should build FTAAP incrementally from the bottom up through…
The Asia-Pacific region faces a complex economic landscape characterized by growth potential tempered by significant risks. Forecasts project a GDP growth rate of 3.4% in 2024, with inflation expected to moderate to around 2.3%, but challenges such as geopolitical tensions, climate change, global supply chain vulnerabilities, and ageing populations present substantial risks. These risks are exacerbated by factors such as protectionism, trade conflicts, and the increased frequency of natural disasters affecting economic stability and productivity. Survey insights reveal a region…
By PBEC Executive Director – December 2024 DECEMBER 2024: A PBEC update on APEC 2025 agenda hosted by South Korea: Korea launched its chairmanship of APEC 2025, the first time in two decades that the nation is hosting the global forum, on Monday 11th December 2024 with the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting (ISOM) Symposium held in Seoul against a backdrop of political uncertainty over the past week. The symposium, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, set the stage…
Climate change is intensifying, but so is the push to decarbonize. While many businesses have made progress tracking Scope 1 and 2 emissions, the focus is now shifting to #Scope3 — indirect emissions from supply chains. Explore KPMG’s report with PBEC – Pacific Basin Economic Council, Unlocking the Scope 3 Opportunity – Insights from Asia Pacific Businesses and watch our recent webinar discussion on the topic with regional leaders and subject matter experts, to get a view of how some organizations are…
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced plans today with regard to launching the Korea-ASEAN Trade and Economic Think Tank Dialogue (“Dialogue”), proposed by Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during the 25th Korea-ASEAN Summit held on October 10 in Vientiane, Lao PDR. The Dialogue was first proposed as a concrete joint project on the occasion of the bilateral Korea-ASEAN diplomatic relations advancing to a comprehensive strategic partnership in commemoration of this year marking…
By Toyota Material Handling The world of logistics is going through a considerable transformation. There are significant ongoing changes in the business landscape, a mindshift in the general population altering social behaviour, new technologies, and radical developments in logistics – all presenting both threats and opportunities to players in the logistics sector. PBEC is delighted to share the Trends in Logistics Report 2024 which provides a high-level overview of the key trends that we believe are currently most urgent and…
Originally published in The Straits Times – courtesy of the Lowry Institute The recent Quad summit was something of a victory lap for President Joe Biden’s Asia strategy. Yet the success of the Biden administration’s approach to deepening ties with a small group of capable partners has also been its limitation. The three Quad partners together accounted for nearly 40 per cent of US high-level diplomatic activity in the Indo-Pacific, tracked by the Lowy Institute for the 2024 edition of…