ASEAN, Japanese Business Leaders Seek to Spur Economic Ties
On 10 April 2015, Japanese business leaders met Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Le Luong Minh, and discussed trade and investment opportunities in the region during their visit to Jakarta. The economic mission of nearly 20 senior executives from Japan's large companies was led by Mr. Sadayuki Sakakibara, Chairman of Keidanren (Japan Business Federation).
In welcoming the delegation, SG Minh emphasised that by 2015, ASEAN will offer the market opportunity of not only 625 million people from 10 ASEAN Member States (AMS) but also additional six trade partners of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with up to 3.3 billion people. SG Minh also urged the Japanese delegation to look into investment opportunities for infrastructure projects to enhance ASEAN connectivity, including transport, telecommunication, power, ports, water and sanitation, that require US$60 billion capital funds each year until 2020, particularly when ASEAN has put in place the Public-Private Partnership framework.