{"id":909143,"date":"2026-05-29T15:12:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T20:12:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/29\/asean-chairship-takes-center-stage-at-businessworld-economic-forum\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T15:12:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T20:12:26","slug":"asean-chairship-takes-center-stage-at-businessworld-economic-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/29\/asean-chairship-takes-center-stage-at-businessworld-economic-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"ASEAN chairship takes center stage at BusinessWorld Economic Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Zafer Mustafaoglu and Jose Ma. \u201cJoey\u201d Concepcion III<\/p>\n

STAR \/ File<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

MANILA, Philippines \u2014 The Philippines has had an eventful 2026 so far, with fuel price hikes, geopolitical tensions and internal political instability dominating the headlines of the year\u2019s first quarter.<\/p>\n

Yet, the country\u2019s chairship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is poised to become the defining highlight of the year, impacting the country\u2019s economy and diplomatic standing, as well as its ability to influence regional priorities.<\/p>\n

This renewed prominence will be placed in the limelight during the country\u2019s premier business gathering, BusinessWorld Economic Forum 2026, scheduled for May 18 at the Grand Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Manila in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.<\/p>\n

With the theme \u201cAdvancing the ASEAN Agenda: Turning Regional Vision to Corporate Action,\u201d the forum is expected to bring together policymakers, economists, top executives and business leaders from various industries over dialogues on how government policy and private sector initiatives can align with the year\u2019s more important themes, such as ASEAN priorities, trade, digitalization, sustainability and inclusive development.<\/p>\n

Participants will engage in a full day of discussions centered on how the Philippines can utilize its ASEAN chairship to boost economic growth and strengthen its role in the region.<\/p>\n

The opening keynote, titled \u201cPositioning the Philippines as ASEAN\u2019s Next Economic Engine,\u201d is set to be delivered by Zafer Mustafaoglu, division director for the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, East Asia and Pacific at the World Bank. He is expected to outline ASEAN opportunities for the country to capitalize on, including regional demand, demographic advantages and ongoing structural reforms.<\/p>\n

Panel discussions and fireside chats will delve into key themes shaping the country\u2019s economic trajectory within ASEAN.<\/p>\n

The first panel, focusing on \u201cBenchmarking the Philippines\u2019 Competitiveness: Lessons From The Region\u2019s Best,\u201d will feature Jestoni Olivo, a senior economist at the Philippine Competition Commission; Anthony Oundjian, managing director and senior partner at Boston Consulting Group\u2019s Manila; Ronald Roda, managing director of Grab Philippines, and Dr. Jamil Paolo Francisco, executive director of the Asian Institute of Management-Rizalino Navarro Center for Competitiveness.<\/p>\n

The forum will conclude with a closing keynote from Jose Ma. \u201cJoey\u201d Concepcion III, chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council and founder of GoNegosyo, who will provide a \u201cCEO Perspective on ASEAN 2026: Business Leadership in a More Integrated Region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reserve your seats now at https:\/\/businessworldecoforum.helixpay.ph\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Luz Fetzer
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zafer Mustafaoglu and Jose Ma. \u201cJoey\u201d Concepcion III STAR \/ File MANILA, Philippines \u2014 The Philippines has had an eventful 2026 so far, with fuel price hikes, geopolitical tensions and internal political instability dominating the headlines of the year\u2019s first quarter. Yet, the country\u2019s chairship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is poised<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":909144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64539,149850],"tags":[57216,149849],"class_list":{"0":"post-909143","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-asean","8":"category-chairship","9":"tag-asean","10":"tag-chairship"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=909143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/909144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}