Businessmen back Cebu Action Plan

MANILA, Philippines - Businessmen in the region have thrown their support behind the Cebu Action Plan, a set of reforms that will be formally announced by Asia-Pacific finance ministers this week.

Hiroyuki Suzuki, chair of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council’s (ABAC) finance and economics working group, stressed this multi-year roadmap would play a significant role in promoting inclusive growth for member economies.

“These are the critical steps that APEC must take to catalyze the inclusive and broad-based growth that will transform our region into a strong and resilient engine of the global economy,” Suzuki said in a statement.

The Cebu Action Plan (CAP) will be unveiled on Friday after the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting in Cebu.

“Finance ministers and private sector leaders should collaborate more closely to expand funding for micro- and small enterprises and infrastructure, increase resilience of enterprises and communities, and accelerate capital market development,” Suzuki said.

The ABAC earlier this year held workshops with industry experts including those from banks, asset management firms, insurers, pension funds, credit bureaus, and rating agencies to identify initiatives under the Cebu Action Plan.

The discussions led to programs the private sector said it would support such as expanding the access to funding of small businesses and expanding capital markets.

The meetings with industry leaders also resulted in initiatives to support pension funds and insurance firms in the region, to increase infrastructure investments, and to facilitate disaster risk financing.

“Financial industry CEOs and experts from across the region will be joining finance ministers at their meeting in Cebu to discuss their collaboration in promoting these initiatives under the CAP. For this reason, this year’s APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting will be an important milestone in the evolution of Asia-Pacific financial markets,” Suzuki said.

The ABAC is backing the creation of a regional credit information system to help more small businesses get financing when operating outside their home countries.

The Asia-Pacific Financial Forum is expected to continue holding workshops under the Cebu Action Plan to better thresh out policies and measures needed to support trade and supply chain financing in the region, and to grow investments in start-ups.