European Business Sentiments and Viewpoints on Regional Trade, Investment Opportunities and EU-ASEAN Relations

About the Seminar

With ASEAN developing its economic integration programme further, increasing discussions of Industry 4.0 and digitisation, and the growth of economic headwinds driven by the ongoing US-China trade war, this Seminar will look at the perspective that European industry has towards Southeast Asia. Covering attitudes towards trade and investment in the region, viewpoints on the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and developments with various trade deals, as well as the EU-ASEAN relationship, the Seminar will provide further insight into the EU-ASEAN Business Sentiment Study, concerns that industry has on the AEC’s progress, and how the EU-ASEAN relations could be improved going forward. How do European businesses see the prospects for ASEAN? Can Southeast Asia maintain its attractiveness as the investment destination of choice? What is the sense from European industry on how the AEC is developing? Can and should Europe do more with ASEAN? And what is holding the relations back?

About the Speaker

Chris Humphrey is a Business Development and Government Relations professional with more than a decade of experience running business units throughout Asia, and over 20 years of experience in working for or dealing with Governments and regulatory authorities. Chris began his varied professional career as a UK Civil Servant, where, amongst other things, he was a Private Secretary to a Minister and an Air Services Trade Negotiator covering the Asia Pacific Region. After leaving Government, Chris moved to the private sector, working initially in the Government and external relations teams at two British airlines, before moving to Shanghai, China with Virgin Atlantic, where he headed up the airline’s China operation and oversaw the rapid expansion of their business in China. Whilst in Shanghai, Chris also sat on the Executive Committee of the British Chamber of Commerce. After a short spell in Hong Kong with Virgin, Chris then joined a UK-based security and defence group where he led their Asia Pacific team for over five years and was instrumental in them getting contracts with the Japanese and Singapore Governments and also with SOEs in China. Chris has now been in Singapore for over a decade and has been running the EU-ASEAN Business Council as Executive Director since its formal inception in 2014, where he has overseen a 325% increase in its membership and helped make the Business Council the foremost business body for European industry in ASEAN.

Registration

For registration, please click here. Registration closes on 16 September 2019.