Cambodia aims to make the most of ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) 2022 this year to convince as many new investors as possible to enter the burgeoning local market, a key preparatory meeting affirmed on June 29.

The gathering is scheduled for November in conjunction with the 4th ASEAN Summit, both of which are to be hosted by Cambodia – this year’s ASEAN chair.

ABIS is one of the bloc’s major annual events, which brings together regional and global leaders, along with CEOs of major companies, to discuss and share experiences on important socio-economic topics and developments in the region.

June 29’s conference, the 93rd ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC) Meeting, organised in collaboration with the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC), discussed preparations for ABIS 2022 and ASEAN Business Awards (ABA) 2022.

This year’s ABIS will be held in mixed format – online and in-person – due to Covid-19 concerns, and ABA will distinguish outstanding ASEAN businesses that help improve people’s lives and promote the bloc’s prestige, CCC vice-president Lim Heng explained to The Post on June 30.

Heng is convinced that Cambodia will garner a more prominent role in ASEAN and the world and otherwise “benefit greatly” from organising ABIS this year, which he hailed as a “national honour”.

As the host of this year’s edition, “we will take this opportunity to further promote our economic potential, considering that we are not just part of ASEAN, but also ASEAN Plus Six, which encompasses Australia, China, Japan, [South] Korea, India and New Zealand too.

“This is our chance to project an image and present investment opportunities in Cambodia to the ASEAN Economic and wider international community,” he said.

Hong Vanak, director of International Economics at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, agreed, suggesting that the Kingdom also concentrate on showcasing its investment potential to participants of ABIS from non-ASEAN countries.

He highlighted that the government has undertaken a slew of reforms to create a conducive investment climate for those who may be keen to establish or expand their presence in any of Cambodia’s promising markets, leading to a rise in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows.

“FDI has played an important role in the development of the Cambodian economy before and during Covid-19,” he told The Post on June 30.