MAKATI: November 3, 2017– Various press outfits attended the press conference held at the Manila Polo Club for the highly anticipated ASEAN Business & Investment Summit 2017 (ABIS 2017) on November 12 to 14, 2017. The summit which will be held in Solaire Resort & Casino, Manila will be the biggest gathering of business and state leaders from the ASEAN and beyond.

ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) Chairman and Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion officially welcomed the press and gave an opening message about the framework behind his vision of prosperity for all — the 3 Ms of Entrepreneurship (Money, Markets, and Mentorship). Concepcion also confirmed the attendance of Prime Minster Narendra Modi of India and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of Russia.

H.E. Narendra Modi (Prime Minister, Republic of India) and H.E. Dmitry Medvedev (Prime Minister, Federation of Russia)

“We are fortunate to have the Prime Minister of India and Russia as confirmed speakers in our event. We’ve also invited several other state leaders from the ASEAN and beyond. Having these state leaders along with the roster of experts in our five forums is a testament to the importance of creating prosperity for all in the ASEAN,” ASEAN-BAC Chairman Concepcion said.

ASEAN-BAC Members Teresita Sy-Coson and George Barcelon along with ASEAN-BAC Executive Director Gil Gonzales were also present. They shared their insights on questions raised by press on issues such as infrastructure development, connectivity, standardizing business registration, security initiatives, and advice for small entrepreneurs in the face of integration.

A key highlight of the press conference covered the ASEAN Mentorship for Entrepreneurs Network launch. Concepcion imparted that the Network would be the first of its kind in the region and will pool together 280 academicians, entrepreneurs, and business practitioners. The Philippines currently has the highest pool of mentors at 53.ASEAN-BAC Adviser and Program Chair of ABIS 2017 Josephine Ramos served as the host and gave the run down of the event’s program and speakers. The three-day summit will cover keynote addresses by state leaders, and will feature five forums covering infrastructure development, women economic empowerment & human capital development, access to money and markets, the sharing economy, and entrepreneurship in the digital economy.