Timothy Connor Co-Chair

Bryan A. Norton Co-Chair

Piyasena C. Perera Vice Chair

Welcome to the Asia Business Committee web page.

 

The Asia Business Committee will host a number of events and activities during the year. The luncheon events will present speakers noted for their expertise to address and discuss a broad range of issues that may impact ACCJ member companies doing business within the Asia-Pacific region.  The Forum events in the ACCJ boardroom in the evenings will use a guest speaker format similar to the luncheon events, but in a more intimate and lower cost setting. 

Recent estimates show that Asian economies account for over 53% of the world’s GDP and estimates indicate that this number will continue to grow during this century.  Countries in Asia are well aware of this fact and the energy in the region is easily apparent. While economic growth will improve personal incomes in many countries in Asia, there will be mountains to climb and consequences that must be dealt with on a national, regional, and in some cases by other countries in the world. Presently, Asia is a region with countries such as China, the Koreas, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan and others, all at different points in their economic development and integration into the global economy. Above the country level, there are important regional organizations such as ASEAN, APEC and potentially the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) have taken on increased importance within US trade policy and US foreign policy. 

The Asia Business Committee will be exploring a wide range of topics through its activities, from government level issues such as trade and foreign relations, to environmental issues that must be addressed in order to allow economic development to continue within a stable living environment. We will also look at practical business issues related to developing business in countries in Asia which will include important legal issues, corporate governance, tax policies and labor regulations. In addition, the Committee will include topics and information which present perspectives related to Japan within the context of being part of Asia. This will include discussions of trade and economic related issues on the Asia region level.

 

Example of topics we will seek to bring to the ACCJ:

 

• Foreign Trade Agreements (FTA)

• Corporate Governance in countries in Asia

• Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum related topics (APEC)

• Trans Pacific Partnership related topics (TPP)

• Environmental issues

• Women in the workplace

• Government policy perspectives from various countries

• Economic issues within countries and on the regional level

• Job growth strategies

• Other (We are open to suggestions)

 

We will be using the following vehicles:

 

With an eye on costs and scheduling to give as many committee members and other ACCJ members the ability to participate in our activities, we will be coordinating the following types of activities:

 

1. Luncheon events

 

The committee will host luncheon events at which speakers noted for their expertise and experience address and discuss a range of issues of interest to ACCJ members and useful to member companies do business within the Asia-Pacific region. The general schedule for the luncheon events will be the following:

 

12:00pm   -12:15pm     -   Networking

12:15pm   -12:50pm     -   Lunch is served

12:50pm   -  1:30pm     -   Speaker time

 1:30pm    -  1:50pm     -   Q&A

 1:50pm    -  2:00pm     -   Closing remarks

 

 

2. Evening  Asia Forum in the  ACCJ Boardroom

 

We will be inviting interesting guests with expertise on specific subjects to join us for forum like discussions in the ACCJ boardroom.  These will be a low cost evening event that we hope provides scheduling flexibility for those who are unable to attend the more formal luncheon events. Drinks and light snacks are provided. The general schedule will be as follows:

 

6:30pm -  6:50pm Networking

6:50pm -  7:10  Committee news and review of recent activities

7:10-7:30 Guest introduction and short presentation

7:30-8:00 Q&A and open discussion

 

3. LinkedIn

 

For those who aren’t able to attend activities in person but would like to be involved with the Asia Business Committee, we have group on LinkedIn which has both ACCJ members and non-members with interests in Asia. Presently, there are over 100 members of our group and we are always happy to welcome new participants.