ASEAN businesses could become key regional players: IPPG CEO

Attending the World Knowledge Forum 2022 (WKF) as a distinguished guest speaker following the formal invitation from the Secretary General of ASEAN-Korea Center, Le Hong Thuy Tien, President and CEO of Imex Pan Pacific Group IPPG, talked about the position of Vietnamese businesses in the world economy.

The event took place in Seoul, Korea, with the theme of "Supercompensation: Restoring Global Prosperity and Freedom." The forum invited featured experts, politicians and leaders of well-known global corporations. Winners of ASEAN Entrepreneurs 2021 and more than 55,000 online and in-person participants, including businesses from Korea and other countries, also attended the discussion.

According to the ASEAN Development Outlook (ADO) report of July 2022, ASEAN has made remarkable progress, becoming the fourth largest economy after the U.S., China and EU. ASEAN is also one of the most dynamically developing regions in the world with a total GDP of $3.3 trillion in 2021.

"There are many factors for ASEAN businesses to become ‘key players’," the IPPG President and CEO said. She pointed out several elements, including power of data and technology, sustainable solutions, and energy transformation.

Besides, businesses should expand their operational scale in alignment with organic growth, alliances, and M&A.

CEO Le Hong Thuy Tien (R) at the World Knowledge Forum 2022. Photo by IPPG

She shared IPPG's experience in overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic. The company shut down 25 offices and 1,200 stores and switched to remote working. When the supply chain and logistics were disrupted, IPPG established IPP Air Cargo, one of the first cargo carriers in Vietnam, to resolve the supply chain disruptions both locally and globally.

Tien mentioned the economic relationship between Korea and ASEAN: "Korea is the third largest bilateral trade partner of Vietnam in 2021. In the first seven months of 2022, Korea ranked second among 72 countries investing in Vietnam with a total investment of nearly $3.3 billion."

"Cultural exchange can lay the foundation for two countries' development, but the most crucial element is economic interchange, which involves sharing Korea's lessons of economic development and transition that help us implement strategies in the domestic market," said Thuy Tien.

The World Knowledge Forum, organized by the ASEAN-Korea Center and Maekung Media Corporation, is an intergovernmental organization that promotes economic cooperation between 10 ASEAN member countries and Korea.

The forum is held annually, welcoming experts from famous universities, entrepreneurs and politicians including Bill Gates, Jack Ma, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.