Bangkok, 21 November 2022 - Mr. Yol Phokasub, Chief Executive Officer of Central Retail Corporation Public Company Limited or CRC was the private sector representative in sharing his business vision at the APEC CEO Summit 2022 under the topic ‘The Future of Asia Pacific Trade and Investment’. “With Thailand as the APEC host country this year, it is an opportunity to let all parties witness Thailand's readiness in welcoming back tourists to the land of smiles with warm hospitality. Investors and international business travellers will also be able to see Thailand's potential as an investment hub in the APEC region. The world is facing a perfect storm of crises, including economic, health and climate crisis. More importantly, our economies are experiencing uneven recovery that widens the gap of inequalities impacting both the social and economic aspects, which will certainly slow down progress for all. Hence, this is the perfect time to share the direction for sustainable economic growth for the region, which is based on Resilience and Inclusion that will rapidly boost business growth to achieve ONE APEC. This will encourage collective effort and unity throughout the region, creating positive social and economic impact, decreasing social inequality and driving sustainable economic growth”, commented Mr. Yol.

Under the specified topic, Mr. Yol shared his vision alongside Mr. Tomochika Uyama, Senior Advisor to the Director General, World Trade Organization (WTO), Mr. John W.H. Denton AO, Secretary General, The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Dr. Ding Xiongjun, Chairman of Kweichow Moutai. It is considered an important opportunity for global business leaders to exchange perspectives and debate various approaches in enabling economic growth. Additionally, the event also reflects the collaboration between private and public sectors in supporting trade and investment, strengthening Asia Pacific for sustainable growth.

Mr. Yol shared his perspective on how to drive the region’s economic recovery, which consists of two urgent agendas, including ‘Recommit to FTAAP’ and ‘Reimagine Asia Pacific with a BCG economy’:

1. Recommit to FTAAP: Every sector must support FTAAP and elevate it to become Next-Gen FTAAP to ensure that inclusive and sustainable development happens across the region
2. Reimagine Asia Pacific with a BCG (Bio-Circular-Green) economy: To drive strong, community-centric growth, which is considered another urgent agenda for every sector to tackle shared challenges, aligning with APEC Summit’s key ambitions of ‘Open, Connect, Balance’.

“It is considered a great opportunity to participate in the APEC CEO Summit 2022, which allows us to share and understand the vision of global leaders who have come to exchange knowledge and perspectives with a mutual goal of ONE APEC in mind along with driving economic recovery and long-term growth. As ONE APEC, it’s not only agreeing on broad terms, but as ONE APEC, all economies should think as one and act as one – leaving no one behind during this perform storm. ” concluded Mr. Yol.