UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC) leads business input at the UK Consultation at the Annual ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM)

Kuala Lumpur, Thursday 25 October 2025

The UKABC once again led the business input into this year’s ASEAN Economic Ministers – UK Consultation. The meeting was hosted and Chaired by Malaysia’s Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, H.E. Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Chair of the ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting. The AEM-UK Consultation offered our UKABC partners an unrivalled platform to engage with ASEAN Economic Ministers and the Secretary-General of ASEAN, side by side with H.E. Liz Lloyd, Minister for Digital Economy, on priority economic deliverables for the UK and Southeast Asia.

Our business delegation was led by Stuart Tait, Deputy Chair of UKABC and General Manager of HSBC Banking UK. Other members of the delegation included UKABC’s Ian Gibbons, CEO, and senior business leaders from Mott MacDonald, Standard Chartered, ACCA, OCS, and Shell.

The UK’s overall presentation identified three priority areas where the UK can work with ASEAN to make a real impact together:

1. Digital Trade

2. Creating interoperable seamless systems across ASEAN Energy Transition to accelerate clean and secure energy investment

3. Building confidence for sustainable growth through world-class sustainability reporting.

Stuart Tait outlined how the accelerated implementation of the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) would enable seamless digital trade, drive interoperability, and increase business - in particular SME - participation across ASEAN’s digital economy.

Phil Napier-Moore from Mott MacDonald underlined that the increasingly competitive price of renewables demonstrates their importance to ASEAN’s economic planning. He also shared lessons that could be learned from the UK’s Clean Power 2030 plan.  
 
Joon Nien Mak from Standard Chartered emphasised that the ASEAN Power Grid was vital to ensuring that energy transition and clean energy sources advance across the region. As such, the UK’s expertise in blended finance models were key to leveraging concessional capital to mobilise investment for projects that support green transition.
 
Pulkit Abrol from ACCA said that their central recommendation was for ASEAN to align with the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). ASEAN had made good progress in this area, with five member states representing 85% of ASEAN GDP already committed to doing so. ACCA’s recommendations were to Endorse ISSB; Cut duplication; Speak with one ASEAN voice; Make ISSB implementation workable for SMEs; and Close the skills gap.

At the heart of UKABC’s presentation to AEM Ministers - was one of our regular requests - which was to welcome guidance on how the UKABC can best support the priorities of ASEAN and which ultimately strengthen the ASEAN Economic Community.

We look forward to continuing our close, highly valued, and long-established relationship and partnership with The ASEAN Secretariat, including through our upcoming programmes around the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS).

The Joint Statement of the fifth AEM-UK Consultation can be viewed on gov.uk which cites the UKABC’s presentation and our annual flagship UK-ASEAN Business Forum. Our thanks to the Department for Business and Trade and UK Mission to ASEAN for their support during the programme.