Over 120 senior industry and government figures from across ASEAN and the UK gathered in person for the UK-ASEAN Business Forum 2025 – UKABC’s annual flagship event in support of UK-ASEAN bilateral trade, investment, and government engagement.

Lord Vaizey, as Chair of the UK-ASEAN Business Council, spoke during last week’s House of Lords debate on the importance of continuing to grow the UK’s trade and investment partnership with Southeast Asia.

Ian Gibbons OBE, the Chief Executive of UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC), recently met with His Excellency, Mr. Do Minh Hung, Vietnam Ambassador to the United Kingdom to discuss further deepening Vietnam’s bilateral ties with the UK.

Allen Lai, Director-ASEAN of the UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC), recently participated in the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) meeting with the Joint Business Councils (JBCs) in Penang, where Malaysia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN-BAC 2025 was officially launched.

UKABC Chief Executive Ian Gibbons OBE was delighted to host the UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC) roundtable for The Honourable Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry of Malaysia on Friday in London. This roundtable, delivered in partnership with Standard Chartered Malaysia and the British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (BMCC), followed hard on the heels of the highly productive roundtable with captains of industry hosted by Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim and the first UK-Malaysia Joint Economic and Trade Committee meeting on Thursday 16 January.

UKABC Chair Lord Vaizey and Chief Executive Ian Gibbons OBE joined senior UK business leaders for a ‘Captains of Industry’ roundtable hosted during the visit of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia to the UK.

Many congratulations to UKABC's Chief Executive, Ian Gibbons, who was awarded an OBE in HM The King's New Year Honours List 2025.

UKABC was delighted to host HMTC Martin Kent and David Johnstone from the Department for Business and Trade for a tour de force covering updates on ASEAN and the wider Asia Pacific region from both a bilateral and wider regional political and commercial perspective.

Following a visit earlier this year by Martin Kent, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific, the UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC) was pleased to work in partnership with the Department for Business and Trade and The British High Commission in Brunei to deliver the first-ever UK Trade Mission to Brunei Darussalam. 12 companies joined us on the mission which ran from 25-27 November 2024.

The UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC) was delighted to support the successful Indonesian Investment Forum (IIF) at the Raffles Hotel London. This annual event was co-hosted by the Indonesian Ministry of Investment and Downstream Industry (BPKM) through the Indonesian Investment Promotion Centre (IIPC) and the Indonesian Embassy in London.

ASEAN is one of the fastest-growing parts of the global economy, with 700 million people, and many nations with strong and resilient economies. There is a real appetite to engage with the UK. As we rightly pivot back to better relations with the EU, we mustn’t lose sight of our need to continually engage with ASEAN…

UKABC’s Chair, Lord Vaizey of Didcot, and Chief Executive, Ian Gibbons led the UK’s business delegation and UK business programme during the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) and Outlook on the Indo-Pacific Forum in Vientiane, Laos from the 8-11 October.

The global accountancy body – ACCA – is working with the UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC) to promote international business and trade in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The UKABC-led events – where ACCA is principal sponsor – will see government, business, and trade leaders discuss issues that matter to businesses looking to enter and extend their commercial footprint in the region.

In early August, Ian Gibbons, the Chief Executive of the UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC), was delighted to once again meet with His Excellency Dato' Zakri Jaafar, High Commissioner of Malaysia to the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland.

From 3-4 July Rino Donosepoetro, Cluster CEO, Standard Chartered Bank Indonesia and ASEAN Markets and UKABC Board Director and Allen Lai, UKABC’s Director-ASEAN, spoke at the Consultative Forum on Post ASEAN Economic Community 2025, hosted by the ASEAN Secretariat and the UN Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Ian Gibbons, the Chief Executive Officer of the UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC), recently met with His Excellency Mr Ng Teck Hean, the High Commissioner of Singapore to the United Kingdom. The meeting marked a significant step towards enhancing the bilateral relationship between the UK and ASEAN, with a particular focus on Singapore.

On 28th June 2024, Ambassador Teodoro Locsin Jr. welcomed Mr Ian Gibbons, Chief Executive of the UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC), to the Philippine Embassy in London. Their meeting focused on enhancing the Philippines-UK bilateral relationship, particularly through bolstering two-way trade and investment. Ambassador Locsin extended an invitation to British businesses, encouraging them to invest in one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia.

Malaysia’s Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) hosted an informative and interactive tech industry roundtable to discuss investment opportunities in Malaysia.

In the margins of the ASEAN Future of Fintech Forum in London, Lord Ed Vaizey, Chair UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC), Ian Gibbons, UKABC’s Chief Executive and Ben Raby, UKABC’s COO, held constructive and collaborative discussions with Mr Agusman, Member of the Board of Commissioners of Indonesia’s FSA (OJK) and Bernardino Vega, Vice Chair of the Indonesia Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KADIN).

Lord Ed Vaizey, Chair of the UK-ASEAN Business Council met with Hon. Gobind Singh Deo MP, Minister for Digital of Malaysia at Battersea Power Station for an open and informed discussion on AI regulation and safety, managing cyber security risks and the opportunities from the UK and global space sector growth.