CanCham hosted it's first event of four in its G20 Series, Opportunities and Challenges of Doing Business in Asia-Pacific, with event partners High Commission of Canada in Singapore 🇨🇦, British Chamber of Commerce Singapore (BritCham), British High Commission Singapore 🇬🇧 , The Italian Chamber of Commerce in Singapore 🇮🇹, Latin American Chamber of Commerce, Singapore, Singapore Mexico Chamber of Commerce and the Embassy of Mexico in Singapore 🇲🇽.
The event kicked off with a keynote address from event sponsor, Mitul Kotecha, Head of Emerging Markets Strategy, TD Securities, on the Economic Outlook for Asia-Pacific 2023. Key takeaways from his presentation include: headwinds in US and Europe will likely effect Asia-Pacific into 2023, however China's opening will likely help; tourism driven countries will drive growth in the region, whereas trade driven countries will likely struggle.
This was followed by an insightful panel discussion on the role that the Asia-Pacific plays in each country's international trade and investment policies, the competitive advantages that each country offers the Asia-Pacific and advice for companies looking to engage in trade with the Asia-Pacific.
Key takeaways from this discussion include:
- UK and Canada both look to the Indo-Pacific as a key growth partner
- Mexico looks to the Asia-Pacific as a great engine of growth
- Italy has three key sectors of investment: Agri-Tech, Machinery and equipment and transportation
- The UK is a great destination for education and skilled tech workers
- Canada is an attractive investment destination, as it has the lowest tax rate in the G7, political stability and leading innovation in many sectors
- When considering the Asia-Pacific, it is important to have a long-term strategy, a short supply chain and understand you your competitors are when entering these markets
Overall, this was a great success 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇹 🇲🇽 in terms of collaboration from a Government and Chamber perspective!