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ASIA-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers will introduce a new strategic roadmap this October to guide their work for the next five years, replacing the Cebu Action Plan, Malaysia’s Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying has announced.
The roadmap will outline medium-term priorities and deliverables under the Finance Ministers’ Process (FMP), designed to support the broader goals of APEC’s Putrajaya Vision for an open, dynamic, resilient, and peaceful Asia-Pacific community.
“It is critical for ASEAN members to work together within APEC to ensure that our common priorities in Southeast Asia are well-embedded in this new Asia-Pacific roadmap and that initiatives in ASEAN and APEC are consistent and mutually supportive,” Lim said.
She delivered the remarks during her keynote address at the Southeast Asia Conference, jointly organised by the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), and the Asia-Pacific Financial Forum (APFF).
Lim stressed the importance of both APEC and ASEAN as platforms for coordinated regional action and stronger engagement between governments, regulators, and the private sector.
She noted that emerging technologies and new business models, such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing, present opportunities to improve financing access for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and underserved communities.
However, she cautioned that many of these innovations still carry risks that are not yet fully understood.
“Enabling their safe and effective deployment would also require legal, policy and regulatory reforms, changes in industry practices and collaborative efforts to educate consumers, industry practitioners and regulators,” she said.
Lim added that Malaysia welcomes input from the conference, themed ‘Financing Southeast Asia’s Development Priorities: Identifying Medium-Term Deliverables for Public-Private Collaboration’.
“We look forward to our continuing collaboration in ASEAN with ASEAN-BAC and hope for a fruitful discussion at this year’s annual working lunch dialogue between ABAC and APEC Finance Ministers in Incheon,” she said. - June 11. 2025
