History

CABA serves as a platform to promote business ties and collaboration for the China and ASEAN region

History of CABA

The China-ASEAN Business Alliance (CABA) was established in Singapore in 2013 and it serves as a platform to promote business ties and collaboration for the China and ASEAN region as these countries continue to be top trading partners.

Beyond business networking and collaboration opportunities, CABA also provides for business co-operation between China and ASEAN within the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

2013

CABA was established was established by the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs and founded by ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General S. Pushpanathan (2008-2011) in 2013 to reconcile the China-ASEAN chapters under a single alliance through Singapore. Since then, CABA has aspired to be the bridge across the region of 11 countries for trade and investment collaboration. This includes building its profile; linking itself with ASEAN and China dialogue and co-operation mechanisms; expanding its membership within the ASEAN countries; and promoting joint activities with the support of China-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) and the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC).

CABA became an associate member of the East Asia Business Council (EABC).

2015

CABA-Malaysia became the first entity to be established outside Singapore.

2019 (May)

China-ASEAN Business Association was restructured as China-ASEAN Business Alliance, a company limited by guarantee (CLG).

The new CABA will subsume all the existing activities and membership and at the same time continue to strengthen its core areas in promoting trade and connecting businesses in the ASEAN and China regions.

Plans Ahead

In the post-pandemic world and new economic environment in 2021, CABA has repositioned itself as the strategic advocate for the region, as well as a thought leader to provide insights to important regional issues and capability building to promote business issues such as infrastructure financing, sustainability, and digital capabilities.

Today, CABA serves a broader mandate aimed at addressing economic and political issues on bilateral trade and investment. Business leaders and industry experts share their insights and an ASEAN perspective on the trends that affect us at the annual RHT CABA ASEAN Summit. Now in its seventh year, the Summit continues to focus on recent global and regional economic developments through the insightful perspectives of business leaders, providing a conducive platform to facilitate in-depth discussions among sector specialists, industry practitioners and academics on the proper steps forward.