Bình Dương New City, where the 2019 Horasis Asia Meeting will take place from November 24 to 26, is a 45-minute drive from HCM City’s Tân Sơn Nhất airport. Photo courtesy of Becamex IDC Corp

HCM CITY — How to shape the path forward through Asia’s big transitions and how to adopt innovation to build a resilient Asia will top the agenda at the 2019 Horasis Asia Meeting to be held in Bình Dương Province this weekend.

More than 400 top leaders from across Asia and 500 government officials and top executives from the largest businesses in Việt Nam are expected to attend the forum to be held from November 24 to 26. 

Trần Thanh Liêm, chairman of Bình Dương People’s Committee, said Việt Nam is proud to host the event again this year as the country aims to become an export economy that grows rapidly and provides more high-paying jobs to the people of Việt Nam and the whole of Asia.

The province, which is hosting the meeting together with Becamex IDC Corp and VSIP Group, and local agencies are working together to ensure that the event is successful just like last year, he said.  

“The forum is expected to help the province promote its potential among international partners, improve its management capacity, and apply advanced technologies become a smart city.”

The event will offer local enterprises the opportunity to network with top executives of leading companies from around the world. 

It will also promote trade with and investment in countries in Asia, especially Việt Nam. 

The 2019 Horasis will have four plenary and dialogue sessions on practical topics related to key issues in the current globalisation era such as new trends in economic and trade development and achievements in science and technology. 

Delegates will also attend the 15th Asia International Science Conference on Urbanisation, launch various IT projects and attend the opening of the World Trade Centre Bình Dương New City in the new urban area in the province. 

Việt Nam is ASEAN’s rising star, approaching upward of 7 per cent economic growth this year, with growth expected to continue in the years to come.

Bình Dương New City, where the event will take place, is only a 45-minute drive from HCM City’s Tân Sơn Nhất airport.

Frank-Jürgen Richter, chairman of HORASIS, said the key message of this year’s forum is that Việt Nam is willing to engage with entrepreneurs from around the world and in all sectors. 

Việt Nam is primed for greater global interest and investment, and the Government has shown strong commitment to further reforms, he said.

Việt Nam is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, expanding at an average of around 7 per cent a year for the last three decades, he said. 

“Strong economic fundamentals coupled with firm government commitment to more open trade and investment have stood the country in good stead.” 

With uncertainty stemming from the ongoing US-China trade war, many businesses are looking at other production locations in the wider Asia Pacific region, and Việt Nam looks set to benefit the most, he said. 

He said Bình Dương in particular has all the conditions needed to become one of Asia’s most attractive investment destinations.

Many CEOs and investors from Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, India, and the rest of the world are all invited to come to Bình Dương to look at the huge FDI opportunities there, he noted.

As Việt Nam’s emerging gateway for technology, trade and services, Bình Dương is well positioned to serve as a commercial hub for Southeast Asian economies.

Its road infrastructure and 29 industrial parks have developed strongly in recent years, encouraging foreign companies to invest there.

Last year Bình Dương became the only province in Việt Nam to be named one of the world’s Smart21 communities of 2018 by the New York-based Intelligent Community Forum, a non-profit policy research organisation focused on job creation and economic development in the broadband economy.

The annual meeting is Asia’s premier gathering of the region’s most senior leaders in business and government. 

The event seeks to show a systemic view of activities affecting the drivers of Asia’s economic success and how Asian businesses interact regionally as well as globally.

Horasis is a global visions community committed to providing a platform for companies from emerging and developed markets to seek global partners.

In addition to the Horasis Asia Meeting, Horasis hosts the annual Horasis Global Meeting, Horasis China Meeting, Horasis India Meeting, and others. — VNS