Symposium on the Internet Economy | Boracay, Philippines | May 18, 2015

The internet now accounts directly for upwards of 3.4 percent of GDP in many economies. About half of this comes from e-commerce and an additional 30 percent from investments in information technology infrastructure by private firms. The importance of the internet to the broader economy is set to increase in the coming years as more firms integrate technology into their business operations, and as diverse communications tools become more interconnected across most aspects of work and society. As highlighted during the PECC Singapore Conference 2015, the internet economy cuts across multiple sectors posing difficulties for effective policy-making domestically let alone internationally. In 2014, APEC Leaders formally recognized the role of the internet economy in promoting innovative development and empowering economic participation of individuals and SMMEs (small, medium and micro enterprises) as much as for MNCs (multinational companies). They instructed Ministers and officials to discuss the internet economy further, promote member economies' cooperation on developing the internet economy, and facilitate technological and policy exchanges to bridge the digital divide. APEC Ministers agreed to establish an Ad Hoc Steering Group to discuss such issues, propose action, and encourage collaboration across multiple APEC fora by endorsing the APEC Initiative of Cooperation to Promote Internet Economy.

With the aim of supporting this initiative, PECC, in cooperation with the Philippines as the APEC chair for 2015, co-organizied a “Symposium on the Internet Economy” on May 18th, 2015 in Boracay, Philippines, during the week of annual APEC trade ministers' meeting.

The Symposium brought together APEC senior officials, representatives from internet economy-related businesses and relevant organizations to build on the multistakeholder dialogues underway since last year. The cross-cutting and borderless nature of the internet economy and ways to coordinate its socio-economic implications across different sectors and ministries of APEC were addressed.

Watch the keynote speech by APEC 2015 SOM Chair Laura Del Rosario and Session One (YouTube)

Program agenda with presentations for download

Summary Report for APEC SOM2

News clippings

ICT for inclusive growth in agriculture highlighted at APEC 2015 Symposium on internet economy (PIA)

Photos from the Symposium (courtesy of APEC 2015 Philippines)

Press Release: Opportunities from the Internet Economy for Inclusive Growth

20 May 2015 (Boracay, Philippines) - The Internet economy is increasingly important in providing jobs and opportunities across the Asia-Pacific region according to a symposium held on Monday with policy experts, entrepreneurs and government officials as part of the APEC meetings held in the Philippines. E-commerce, for example, was worth US$1.2 trillion in 2013, growing at a rate of around 20 percent every year. “Connectivity, through the Internet economy, will help bring SMEs to market, improve education and health services delivery, link small farmers to large markets, and change the way we design, create, and consume products and services, among others. No business sector or segment of society will be untouched by the power and potential of connectivity,’ said Ambassador Laura Del Rosario, APEC SOM Chair 2015. More...

Public-Private Dialogue (PPD) on Services | Boracay, Philippines | May 17, 2015

PECC co-organized a Public-Private Dialogue (PPD) on Services with the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) of the Philippines in Boracay, Philippines on May 17th, just ahead of the annual APEC ministerial meeting for trade. The purpose of this dialogue was to deepen understanding of officials on the challenges faced by service providers in the region and contribute to the issues to be included in an APEC Services Cooperation Framework, a major initiative of the Philippines this year as the APEC chair. 

The approach taken in this series of Public-Private Dialogues is to understand how companies operate their value chains in the region – some of this involves analytical work as well as hearing directly from service providers.

PPD on Services that took place in Clark, Philippines in February 2015 on the margins of the First Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM1) of APEC, covered information technology and business process management (IT-BPM), creative industries, and reserach and development services. The Boracay PPD was a follow-up to focus on services relevant to the manufacturing, agriculture and environment-related sectors.

Program agenda with presentations for download 

Services can lead to inclusive growth, experts say (PIA)

ABAC Chair: Open trade, investment regime in services to boost growth, jobs in APEC economies (PIA)

APEC Public Private Dialogue on Services  features manufacturing, agriculture, and environment- related services (PIA) 

PECC Singapore Conference | Singapore | February 27, 2015

The Singapore National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation (SINCPEC) and the Philippine Pacific Economic Cooperation Committee (PPECC) were the co-organizers of annual Singapore PECC conference, "Achieving Inclusive Economic Growth in the New Normal," in support of APEC 2015 chaired by the Philippines.

During the APEC Leaders’ Meeting held in Beijing in November 2014, key decisions were taken to make progress on key elements of the regional agenda, including on a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) and improving connectivity. The challenge is how regional economies can implement these plans to ensure that regional growth is not only sustainable but also inclusive.

The conference addressed the following themes through five plenary sessions:

1) Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in a Changing Global Context: Risks and Opportunities
2) Inclusive Growth: Building Capacity at Individual and Community Levels
3) Connectivity and Regional Economic Integration: Reaping the Benefits of Economic Integration
4) Financing Inclusive Growth
5) Making Regional Economic Integration More Inclusive

Laura Del Rosario, Chair of APEC Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) 2015, and Emmanuel Esguerra, Deputy Director-General of Philippine National Economic and Development Authority delivered the opening speeches. Other speakers and panellists included: 

• Roberto Tan, Treasurer of the Philippines; 
• Arsenio Balisacan, Philippine Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning; 
• Joey Salceda, Governor of Albay, Philippines;
• Narongchai Akrasanee, Thai Minister of Energy;
• Mari Pangestu, former Minister of Trade/ former Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia;
• Il-houng Lee, President of Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP); and 
• Tan Sri Rastam Mohd Isa, Chairman, Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia. 

Program agenda and presentations for download

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FPTPEC: Annual General Meeting | Paris, France | March 18, 2015

FPTPEC held its annual general meeting in Paris chaired by its President, Mr. Michel Rochard. About 50 individuals from business, academic, and government sectors participated. Apart from presentations on the ongoing projects of PECC and the new project on ports and shipping proposed by FPTPEC ("The Blue Economy, Future of Port Management and Shipping in the Asia-Pacific"), two presentations were delivered by: Ambassador Christian Lechervy, Permanent Secretary for the Pacific in regards to security in the Asia-Pacific, and the other by Mr. Olivier Barrat, who is in charge of Oceania at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on economic cooperation and commercial objectives of the French diplomatic activities in the Asia-Pacific. More...