The five-year plan identifies medium-term initiatives and deliverables aimed at achieving Apec’s Putrajaya Vision of “an open, dynamic, resilient, and peaceful Asia-Pacific community”, she said.
“It is critical for Asean members to work together within Apec, to ensure that our common priorities in Southeast Asia are well-embedded in this new Asia Pacific roadmap and that initiatives in Asean and Apec are consistent with each other and mutually supportive,” she said at the Asean-BAC and Asia Pacific Financial Forum here.
She said that both Apec and Asean play a critical role in providing platforms for coordinated and collective action among their members, as well as for enhanced government and regulatory engagement with the private sector.
She added that new business models and rapid advances in technology could help redesign financing solutions to better serve micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and marginalised consumers.
Lim said digital technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, as well as new products such as crypto and tokenised assets and digital currencies carried risks that were not yet fully understood.
“Enabling their safe and effective deployment would also require legal, policy and regulatory reforms, changes in industry practices and collaborative efforts to educate consumers, industry practitioners and regulators.”
‘Private sector also to blame for Asean policy failures’
Separately, Asean-BAC chair Nazir Razak said that while governments often faced scrutiny for policy shortcomings, private companies in the region were also responsible for failures to follow through on initiatives.
“As we contend with tech disruptions amid a backdrop of diminishing trust, the actions of state and regional actors are crucial. Poor execution and follow through will prove very costly.”
He also lamented the slowdown in intra-Asean trade and investments and the ability of regional companies to attract investment into the region.
However, he highlighted bright spots such as the expanding Asean QR code linkage as a critical milestone towards seamless payment connectivity.
“Digitalisation is the great enabler of financial inclusion but only if we ensure that it lifts all boats, not just the large or connected.”