HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — The opportunities and challenges arising from the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community, and what strategies Vietnamese firms should apply to stay afloat will be among the issues on the agenda at the Viet Nam CEO Forum to be held in HCM City on September 24.

Titled CEO 3.0: Embarking on the New Mission – Mentality of 90 or 600?, the forum will bring together the CEOs of around 1,000 local and foreign firms and policy makers, who will share their practical experience in cross-border business and penetrating new markets.

Tran Duc Huy, deputy chairman of the Young Businesspeople Association of HCM City (YBA), said the establishment of the AEC by the end of this year would create a single market with 600 million consumers.

Countries like Thailand have prepared well for penetrating other ASEAN markets, but Vietnamese firms remain unmindful, he said.

A survey by the Viet Nam National University found that 60 per cent of Vietnamese firms do not know about AEC and its likely effects on them.

The forum is expected to enable CEOs to formulate business to cope with the fierce competition both in domestic and foreign markets, he said.

The forum, organised by the YBA, the Leading Business Club, the 2030 Businessmen Club, and the Business Association of Vietnamese High Quality Goods, will be held at White Palace Convention Centre in Phu Nhuan District .

Keynote speakers will include Minister of Justice Ha Hung Cuong, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, Boston Consulting Group chairman Hans-Paul Burkner, Global Integration Business Consultants chairman Pham Phu Ngoc Trai, Vinamilk general director Mai Kieu Lien, and Microsoft Viet Nam CEO Vu Minh Tri. — VNS