(17 April 2015. Pasay City, Philippines) The Philippines’ Ms. Teresita Sy-Coson, Vice Chairperson of SM Investments Corporation, is co-chairing in the upcoming 24th World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 19-21, 2015.
The WEF on East Asia is a solutions-based platform for multi-sectoral senior decision-makers who discuss ways and means of improving regional cooperation and advance critical decisions for accelerating sustainable socio-economic development.
She will be co-chairing with Hans-Paul Bürkner, Chairman of the Boston Consulting Group, Germany; John Riady, Executive Director of the Lippo Group, Indonesia; Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Chief Executive Officer of Bank Mandiri (Persero), Indonesia; and William Lacy Swing, Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Geneva.
The WEF East Asia Forum underscores the need for greater cooperation in order to optimize opportunities that will provide increased economic activity in the region. Key to the discussions will be the waning trust between key players and geopolitical tensions which present new challenges to East Asia’s regionalism. This issue carries the risk of undermining future economic growth, compromising poverty reduction, and detracting from shared prosperity.
Other points of discussion include hyperconnectivity and innovations; ongoing resource scarcity, environmental degradation and shifting societal values which further exemplify the pressures that will require renewed trust in public and private sector institutions.
East Asia remains as the world’s economically fastest-growing region, projected to expand by an average rate of above 7% in 2015. It includes some of the world’s most prosperous economies such as Australia, China, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. East Asia is further bolstered by the phenomenal rise of its emerging markets, including Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam. ASEAN is also taking the spotlight as the region prepares for the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community by the end of 2015 which will herald an era of free movement of people, goods and services across a contiguous economic bloc of 10 countries with over 600 million people.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Corazon P. Guidote
Senior Vice President for Investor Relations
SM Investments Corporation
E-mail: cora.guidote@sminvestments.com
Tel. No. (632) 857-0117
smicweb.smicit.com