Road of IES 2026, IBC Holds Executive Dialogue in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta, October 27, 2025 – Indonesian Business Council (IBC) rolls out Executive Lunch Dialogue entitled "From Indonesia to ASEAN Incorporated" on Friday, October 24, 2025. The meeting, held on the sidelines of the 2026 ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, brought together business leaders, policymakers, and economic experts from the ASEAN region to discuss how Southeast Asia's economic progress can be achieved by all parties together.

Led by Arsjad Rasjid, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of IBC, this dialogue brought together representatives from IBC members, Sinarmas, and Paragon Corp, as well as three leading Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) from ASEAN: Temasek Holdings, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, and BPI Danantara, as well as private equity and venture capital firms, including East Ventures, Bullhound Capital, and Sriwijaya Capital. In addition, representatives from Malaysian entrepreneurs were represented by the Kuala Lumpur Business Club (KLBC) and the Sunway Group. Not to be missed were the Chairman of the ASEAN-Business Advisory Council, who will be the upcoming ASEAN chair in 2026, and, from the government side, the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry of the Philippines.

Meanwhile, economic experts, including Tan Sri Rebecca Fatima and Mari Elka Pangestu, as well as the President of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), also participated in the dialogue. Moderated by Noto Suoneto, VP for International Affairs at IBC, the discussion was very constructive.

Chairman of the IBC Supervisory Board, Arsjad Rasjid began by emphasizing how ASEAN has two crucial moments that the business world needs to capitalize on: first, how all ASEAN leaders recognize the importance of intra-regional trade, investment, and supply chains in facing external economic and political threats, which is expected to foster resilience, second, how the level of confidence and trust between ASEAN leaders needs to be institutionalized in a concrete cooperation system and framework that the business world is ready to support.

"We want to promote the spirit of Indonesia Incorporated, where business actors, experts, and policymakers work together for economic growth, and this will continue to be echoed at the ASEAN level," he added.

Meanwhile, IBC CEO Sofyan Djalil conveyed his follow-up. "We will immediately bring the results of today's dialogue to the Indonesia Economic Summit in February 2026. ASEAN regional economic growth is crucial for Indonesia," he said.

Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria emphasizes the importance of simplifying business processes (ease of doing business) to enhance regional competitiveness. Tan Sri Rebecca emphasized two important initiatives being promoted by ASEAN under Malaysia's chairmanship: the ASEAN Business Entity (ABE), which has great potential to facilitate expansion and investment between ASEAN countries, and was initiated by ASEAN-BAC Indonesia in 2023.

In the context of increasingly complex geopolitical dynamics, Tan Sri Rebecca also highlighted the formation of the ASEAN Supply Chain Coordination Council, which reflects ASEAN's seriousness in strengthening coordination and the resilience of regional supply chains against various global disruptions.

On the same occasion, Mari Elka Pangestu explained the background of the ASEAN Geoeconomic Task Force (AGTF), which was established to provide input and recommendations to the ASEAN Heads of State. The formation of the AGTF is an effort to ensure that ASEAN has a responsive, collective, and coordinated approach in facing external challenges in the geopolitical and geoeconomic fields, which increasingly impact regional stability and growth.

Mari Elka Pangestu and Rebecca Fatima also expressed their appreciation for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers and Economic Ministers meeting for the first time in over 25 years to formulate an agreement.

This dialogue also provides an opportunity for IBC members to share their success stories in expanding the reach of their business and corporate investments in the ASEAN region, including:

Chairman of Sinar Mas Telecommunications and Technology, Franky Oesman Widjaja, emphasized the economic potential of the ASEAN region and highlighted the importance of accelerating digital infrastructure to strengthen the ASEAN digital economy. He also highlighted the collaboration between XL Axiata and Smartfren, which has now merged into one.XLSmart, as a concrete example, is strengthening people-connectivity in ASEAN.

Country Director, ParagonCorp Malaysia, Zaireen Ayu Ibrahim, also conveyed that their product's target market, which has already reached the ASEAN market, requires support in reducing trade barriers and strengthening innovation incentives, especially for companies that involve local industry players in their business ecosystems.

Jose Ma. “Joey” Concepcion III, as Chairman ASEAN-BAC 2026, also shared his views and outlined the main priorities of the Philippine leadership next year, namely strengthening the MSME sector, which includes more than 70 million business actors or almost 95% of the total business in the ASEAN region, as well as joint investments in the agricultural sector and empowering youth entrepreneurship.

In the meeting, the Undersecretary of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo, said that informal meetings like this are beneficial for listening to the aspirations of industry players in the ASEAN region and for providing significant input into the Philippines' preparation as ASEAN Chair in 2026.

The ASEAN Incorporated discussion concept, which is informal and involves various stakeholders, will be held annually to coincide with the ASEAN Summit. A session on ASEAN's strategic position within the global economic framework and supply chains will also be featured at the upcoming Indonesia Economic Summit (IES) 2026.