ACCCIM 5th Young Entrepreneurs Conference 2016

“Global Opportunities, Malaysia and Beyond”

Keynote Address by Datuk Ter Leong Yap, President of ACCCIM

22nd June 2016, 2.30 pm, The Zenith Hotel, Kuantan, Pahang
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Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato‘ Sri Lim Sing,
President of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Pahang,

Yang Berbahagia Datuk Ng Yih Pyng,
Chairman of ACCCIM Young Entrepreneurs Committee,

Mr. Chua Say Chai,
Organising Chairman of the ACCCIM 5th Young Entrepreneurs Conference 2016,

Distinguished Guest Speakers and Moderator,

Distinguished Guests, friends from the media,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A Very Good Afternoon to you！

1. Firstly, I wish to welcome you to the ACCCIM 5th Young Entrepreneurs Conference 2016.

2. On behalf of the ACCCIM, I would like to express our profound appreciation to our distinguished speakers, Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Lim Kuang Sia, Mr. Bryan Loo and Ms. Annie Gan from Singapore, and our moderator Mr. Ong Pik Seng.

ACCCIM Young Entrepreneurs Committee (YEC), a force to be reckoned with

3. The ACCCIM Young Entrepreneurs Committee (YEC) was formed in 2011 and it now has a membership of over 2,500. Since its inception, the YEC has been recognised and well received for its role in actively participating and promoting activities and events organized by the ACCCIM and its Constituent Chambers in Malaysia.

4. To enhance its activities and operations, to provide better service to its members, and to drive the development of the business community, the ACCCIM has worked out Nine Action Plans, one of which is to nurture the development of young entrepreneurs so as to inject the passion and enthusiasm of young entrepreneurs into the ACCCIM.

5. As a key event of the ACCCIM Young Entrepreneurs Committee, the ACCCIM Young Entrepreneurs Conference has entered its fifth year since the first conference was held in 2010 and it has become an important annual platform for interaction among young entrepreneurs and corporate leaders.

6. In recent years, the Young Entrepreneurs Conference has been spread its wings overseas. Today, the Young Entrepreneurs Committee has not only invited local youth organisations to take part in this conference, it has also extended its invitations to young entrepreneurs in ASEAN and the wider region, allowing local young entrepreneurs to network and collaborate with their overseas counterparts.

7. Today, I am pleased to see delegates from China, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Macau and other places attending this conference.  Welcome to Malaysia and I hope you will have many fruitful and meaningful discussions.

8. I believe the Young Entrepreneurs Committee can further consolidate and become a force to be reckoned with by promoting the affairs of the ACCCIM and its service to members, as well as to establish strong rapport with local and overseas trade organisations and friendly bodies so as to empower young entrepreneurs and achieve a win-win results.

“Global Opportunities, Malaysia and Beyond”, a timely and aptly theme

9. Young entrepreneurs are the new driving force for national economic development. Fresh ideas and business models from the younger generation are vital in determining the success of the country’s economic transformation and its ability to grow in tandem with regional economic integration.

10. The theme of this conference, “Global Opportunities, Malaysia and Beyond” aptly reflects the need for local enterprises to be self-reliant and have a strong foothold in the domestic market while having an international outlook to venture abroad.

11. We are now in an era of regional economic integration as evidenced by the formalization and implementation of free trade agreements on the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiatives of China, the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). As a result of these trade accords, Asia has now become the region with the fastest regional economic integration.

Three key strategies to leverage advantage and address changes

12. No one can predict the future. Whether you are the successor to a family business or a new generation entrepreneur, you can still prepare yourselves to anticipate changes and adapt to mega trends so as to prevail amid changes and be integrated with the rest of the world.

There are three strategies to address these issues.

13. Firstly, identify the core values of your business:

• When we look at many well-established companies around the the world, we realize that the key factors or attributes that has made them successful, strong and growing is their core values.
• Quality core values help set clear direction, purpose and the corporate culture of a business. It is like a beacon leading the business forward, passing on from one generation to next and sustained through time.

14. Secondly, be brave to go global:

• The current regional economic integration and increasing international competition means that the only way for entrepreneurs to go forward is to keep themselves abreast with times and to expand beyond domestic, or otherwise be phased out.
• In view of the rapid shifts in the world economy, economists and top leaders foresee the dawn of the Asian Age, as symbolized by the world economic axis pivoting from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
• Success stories of enterprises show that many successful entrepreneurs not only possess a regional perspective but also a global perspective, as well as an articulate and liberal management style.
• ASEAN has become a new investment hotspot for businesses worldwide and foreign investors are rushing to the ASEAN market. Being in the heart of ASEAN, Malaysia must make full use of its proximity to take advantage of the opportunities arising from the ASEAN market, which has a combined population of over 600 million.

15. Thirdly, earn from the past and expand your networks:

• The main objective of the ACCCIM Young Entrepreneurs Conference is to enable young entrepreneurs to use this platform of exchanges to gain access to the latest business information and trends, learn from the past and gain insight into the future by sharing experience, knowledge, and business models of successful enterprises in order to create distinct and sustainable business.
• Today, we have three distinguished speakers who will share their valuable secrets of success and experiences with us. I hope our participants can make full use of this opportunity to learn from them.
• The ACCCIM has established and maintained close rapport with trade organisations throughout the world, especially China, and we have been playing an important role as a facilitator in fostering co-operation among enterprises in the two countries.
• The ACCCIM is also on the Advisory Committee of the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Conference (WCEC) and we have maintained closed ties with Chinese chambers of commerce which have hosted the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Conference. This can be a useful leverage to assist enterprises in forging co-operation and establishing wider networks to enhance their businesses.
• As Asian, and particularly ASEAN, economies move full-speed ahead, we must hop onto the bandwagon and use these platforms to collaborate with Chinese entrepreneurs in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other Asian countries in order to tap into more opportunities and achieve mutual benefits.  ACCCIM continues to support Young Entrepreneurs

16. The ACCCIM will continue its efforts to assist the Malaysian Chinese business community to integrate with the new economic age by developing a new momentum of growth and new business horizons. In this regard, we encourage and welcome more young people to join our ranks to contribute towards the business community by pooling our advantage and sharing our achievements. We are an extended family and there will be many benefits and rewards.

17. The ACCCIM 5th Young Entrepreneurs Conference is made possible thanks to the concerted efforts of the ACCCIM Young Entrepreneurs Committee and the Young Entrepreneurs Committees of its Constituent Chambers, as well as the co-operation and support of the Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Pahang. We are especially grateful to the support and encouragement given to young entrepreneurs by Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Lim Seng, who has generously sponsored RM10,000 to this conference, and also the Advisers of ACCCIM Young Entrepreneurs Committees, Dato’ Low Kian Chuan and Dato’ Oon Weng Boon, who have generously sponsored RM10,000 RM5,000 respectively to make the Conference success.

18. With that I declare the ACCCIM 5th Young Entrepreneurs Conference officially open and wish the conference success.

Thank you.