APEC to meet in Manila

APEC to meet in Manila

MANILA (AFP): Pacific Rim business chiefs who will be offering
advice to Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum leaders
are to hold their first meeting here next week, the group's
secretariat said yesterday.

Philippine President Fidel Ramos will formally open the June
14-16 APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) meeting, an official
statement said.

ABAC was created after officials attending the APEC summit in
Osaka in 1995 recognized the role of the private sector in
powering the economic growth of the region.

Each of the APEC member economies have named prominent
business leaders to the ABAC, including Frank Shrontz, chairman
of Boeing Co., Minoru Murorushi, president of Japan's Itochu
Corp. and Roberto Romulo, a former Philippine foreign secretary
who is now chairman of the Philippine Long Distance and Telephone
Co.

The ABAC meeting is part of preparations for the APEC summit
in Subic Bay freeport, northern Philippines, in November.