Investment Facilitation: Advancing Investments in ASEAN
ASEAN STUDIES CENTRE WEBINAR
About the Webinar
This webinar aims to discuss the importance and development of investment facilitation at the multilateral and regional levels. In a world of declining global direct investments, especially in the wake of the impact of the on-going Covid-19 pandemic, investment promotion agencies (IPAs) in ASEAN need to be more effective in attracting foreign direct investments (FDI) into the region including by stepping up their investment facilitation measures to complement existing promotion initiatives. There are opportunities for IPAs to enhance their roles as trusted advisors of foreign investors through a combination of investment facilitation and investment promotion activities which can attract new investments, improve investment retention and promote re-investments from investors interested in ASEAN.
Against this backdrop, Mr Marc Proksch of the Trade and Investment Division, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) will present the conceptual framework and highlight key investment facilitation initiatives in Asia and the Pacific while Mr Tan Tai Hiong, Head of the Services and Investment Division of the ASEAN Secretariat will provide insights on ASEAN’s investment facilitation initiatives.
About the Speakers
Mr Marc Proksch is Chief, Private Sector and Development Section of the Trade and Investment Division of UNESCAP. He oversees the Section’s work in SMEs development, investment promotion and facilitation for development and promotion of responsible business practices. Mr Proksch joined the United Nations in 1990 working in the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok. From 2000 until 2010, he worked in ESCAP’s Trade Policy Section of the Trade and Investment Division, with particular interest in the multilateral trading system and Doha Development Agenda, in particular agricultural trade, trade and investment and competition policy, intellectual property rights, as well as on regional and bilateral trade agreements and their relationship with the multilateral trading system. Mr Proksch holds a Masters’ Degree from the Free University of Amsterdam in political science, international relations and from the London School of Economics in international political economy with specializations in foreign investment and international trade.
Mr Tan Tai Hiong is Assistant Director and Head of the Services and Investment Division of the ASEAN Secretariat. He has been working on the coordination and facilitation of ASEAN policies and initiatives in the areas of trade in services and subsequently also investment, as well as on ASEAN’s Free Trade Area (FTA) negotiations with its Dialogue Partners. In parallel to this, from 2002 to 2018, Mr Tan also worked on coordination and facilitation of overall trade and economic policies among ASEAN member countries as well as between ASEAN and its dialogue partners, which are coordinated through Senior Economic Officials Meeting (SEOM) and ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting (AEM). Prior to joining to the ASEAN Secretariat, Mr Tan worked for an international management consulting firm and then for a holding company of one major business group in Indonesia.
Registration
This webinar will be delivered online entirely. You can join the webinar at the specified date and time using devices (computer, phone, or tablet) with internet connection.
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