How much does attending the APEC CEO Summit cost?

MANILA, Philippines - How much did it cost to see the two most powerful people in the world in one venue? Around $4,000 or more than P180,000.

The CEO Summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings has attracted more than 1,300 delegates from different countries, who paid a hefty sum just to listen to government and business leaders, led by US President Barack Obama and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Migel Estoque, media and communications director of the summit, said the amount paid for a single three-day attendance to the conference, including hotel meals and kits. The summit was held at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel.

“It’s the only event in the world where the business community has an opportunity to interact with APEC leaders,” Estoque said in an interview after the event’s conclusion on Wednesday.

The summit featured two whole-day sessions beginning 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. The last day today only lasted until 12:30 p.m., but showcased four APEC leaders delivering keynote speeches and some answering questions from the floor.

Aside from Obama and Xi, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla were also present. They represented their respective leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indonesia’s Joko Widodo.

The event also featured business leaders such as Alibaba founder and Chinese tycoon Jack Ma, Blackberry president and chief executive officer John Chen and Ayala Corp. executive Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala.

It was held at the Makati Shangri-la, which Estoque said was chosen based on its “room capacities and other functionalities.” She said there was no need for publicity for the event.

“We really do not need to do much publicizing because the program itself holds that much prestige to draw in the crowd without having to advertise it,” she pointed out.

Reporters were banned from entering the plenary hall where sessions are being held. Instead, organizers set up a media room a floor below the ballroom, complete with LCD screens with a live feed of the event plus food and drinks.

On Wednesday's closing event, only select reporters carried by different member economies were allowed entry to the plenary. Around 250 volunteers from different universities also assisted during the gathering.

The hotel itself was placed on lockdown at different intervals marking the arrival and departure of state leaders, security officers said.

Asked if there were glitches encountered during the forum, especially on security, Estoque said: “We did not encounter any problems.”

The event also attracted numerous international and local sponsors. Estoque said aside from “awareness,” the CEO Summit allowed VIPs to network with each other.

“It’s an amazing avenue to be able to meet all these CEOs at once,” she said.