New Zealand ASEAN Business Alliance (ABA) Conference will take place concurrently in five countries.

Technology will play a big role in bridging distances across borders as speakers based in each of the 5 cities will be streamed simultaneously to attendees in all 5 locations – Auckland, Singapore, Malaysia, Jakarta, and Bangkok.

These five locations represent the chambers that form part of ABA – a network of chambers and business associations in New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, New Zealand, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Indonesia. The annual ABA Conference is organised in partnership with the Southeast Asia Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence (SEA CAPE) and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).

To be held over two days on 22 and 23 November with the theme of “Open. Connect. Balance”, the first day will be a hybrid event with speakers from New Zealand and ASEAN on the theme of emerging exports.

Keynote speaker Noke Kiroyan will be speaking from Jakarta and discuss how creating open, connected, and balanced value chains will benefit ASEAN. Noke, Partner at Kiroyan Consulting, has been an international business executive for over three decades, including top executive positions at leading multinationals. He is currently the Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce Indonesia.

Rt Hon Sir John Key, former New Zealand Prime Minister and Chairman of ANZ Bank, will also be delivering a recorded address on building strong and stable connections across ASEAN for business growth.

The panellists on day 1 are Kellie Twigge and Elisabeth McAuliffe, who will be speaking from Singapore on People and Talent Crunch.

Nuttannee Vongveeranonchai from Bangkok will talk about sustainability for the building construction industry, while Haddy Rohan Zulkifli will speak from Kuala Lumpur about ASEAN Cross-Border Expansion. Kenneth Leong will be moderating from Auckland.

SEA CAPE Director Professor Siah Hwee Ang and ABA Co-Chair Andrew Bayly will be in Kuala Lumpur to deliver opening and closing remarks.

There will be opportunities for attendees to ask questions and discuss issues with the keynote speaker and panellists from all the locations.

For the full programme line-up for the two-day conference and full list of speakers, please refer to the registration pages. To attend the conference in Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, please register with the respective business chamber in these countries.