ASIA PACIFIC CITIES SUMMIT A BOOST FOR BRISBANE

The 2011 Asia Pacific Cities Summit (APCS) is an integral part of Brisbane City Council’s economic development agenda to generate international networks and promote business relationships throughout the Asia Pacific region. Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk urges businesses to take advantage of the opportunities at the summit.

THE 2011 APCS brings together 1000 business and civic leaders from across the Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Americas.

Themed The Business of Cities, it focuses on business growth, trade, investment and economic outcomes for participating delegates and sponsors and provides a unique opportunity for Brisbane businesses to participate in a program designed to support their growth plans.

A key benefit is the opportunity to build international and domestic contacts and markets via the business matching program. This unique program enables Brisbane businesses to identify and meet relevant companies and contacts from both the Asia Pacific and around the world that match their growth plans.

The summit team is scheduling meetings on behalf of many business delegates and, where required, will use a team of language ambassadors to provide interpretation services during meetings.

Brisbane-based businesses can also host an exhibition stand within the central Trade Market Square and showcase their offering in an international forum.

For those who choose to be involved in the summit, there are clear trade and investment benefits. At the 2009 APCS in Incheon South Korea, deals brokered through the summit were in the vicinity of $4 million and continuing to expand and I expect similar or greater outcomes this year with Brisbane hosting the event.

More broadly for Brisbane, I am using the summit to highlight to delegates from around the world that Brisbane, as a city, is back to business. We are continuing to strengthen our position as Australia’s new-world city and the summit is another way we are seeking to grow relationships, particularly with the Asia Pacific.

A good example of this was the signing of an agreement with Hyderabad in India as Brisbane’s 9th sister city last year. This represents a tremendous opportunity for our city to further develop our direct reach to key markets like Hyderabad, one of India’s most rapidly developing cities.

More than 100 cities will be in attendance, with 70 cities and regions already committed from overseas and inter-state. This alone will inject between $1.8 million and $3.6 million into the Brisbane economy through delegate attendance and spending.

Those in attendance will also have the benefit of listening to presentations, case-studies and addresses from a variety of keynote speakers across the three themes – the business of green cities; the business of smart and connected cities; and the business of growing cities, including valuable insights from our speakers.

The Summit has the support of the State Government as principal partner, as well as the business community through a number of sponsors including platinum sponsors ANZ and IBM, who will both play key roles showcasing the growth opportunities available in the world’s fastest growing region – the Asia Pacific.

I encourage Brisbane businesses to attend and to bring their key representatives to meet with potential international partners from around the world. In addition, I encourage chief executives to put forward their best and brightest young professionals to attend the Young Professionals Program.

The Young Professionals Program is specifically aimed at the future of Brisbane businesses, young people aged 18 to 25, from either the professional or student community. It includes a pre-summit workshop and integrates across the three days, provides the participating young professionals with the opportunity to swap ideas with counterparts and explore the possibilities for cities of the future.

In its 15-year history, the summit has firmly positioned itself as one of the region’s premier business events, and as such, has become a springboard for Brisbane-based companies to gain access into the rapidly growing Asia Pacific markets.

The summit takes place at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre between July 6-8 and I urge Brisbane business looking to raise their profile, reinforce their credentials within their industry and expand into new markets to attend.