ECONOMIC COMMITTEE FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME FOR LAISR

This report provides APEC Ministers with a high-level overview of how the Economic Committee (EC) will progress APEC’s structural reform agenda across the five LAISR priority areas of regulatory reform, competition policy, corporate governance, public sector governance and strengthening economic and legal infrastructure.

The broad structure followed by each strand of the forward work programme is that the LAISR themes will be placed in context by commencing a policy dialogue amongst APEC officials on the importance of each theme to enhancing an economy’s growth potential. Areas of need under each theme will then be identified before commencing activities to promote understanding, build capacity and raise awareness of elements identified as priorities. A stocktake of progress will be undertaken in 2010 and the direction will be set for the EC’s work going forward.

The forward work programme aims to reflect a “whole of APEC” approach for carrying out structural reform activities by identifying how the EC will work with other APEC fora involved in structural reform activities (including, but not limited to, SELI, CPDG, IEG, CTI, ACTTF, the Finance Ministers’ Process, and sectoral working groups such as TELWG and TPTWG), as well as the business community and academics where appropriate. It also captures the important elements for ensuring that structural reforms are successfully implemented, including the identification of viable policy options, the building of institutional capacity to implement reform, and the development wide-spread understanding and support for reform.

The key elements of the forward work programmes under each of the five LAISR themes as well as the key upcoming structural reform initiatives being undertaken by the EC are described below. The detailed forward work programmes on each of the five themes are included in Annexes 1 to 5. The process that the EC is using to develop the forward work programme for LAISR is also described briefly.

The Economic Committee (EC) developed the forward work programme for LAISR by establishing a “Friends of the Chair” (FotC) group (a group of between 3 to10 interested economies) for each of the five LAISR themes. The FotC mechanism is designed to ensure that the work programme of the Committee reflects the priorities of member economies and guides the work of the EC through until 2010. The majority of APEC economies have signed up to at least one group and have actively contributed to the development of the forward work programme. The forward work programme is intended to be a “working document”, which will be updated by FotC groups and discussed annually/biannually at EC meetings.

Regulation is any law or other government-endorsed “rule” that influences or controls the way that people and businesses behave. Beyond legislation and formal regulations, “quasi-regulation” such as codes of conduct, advisory instruments, and guidance notes can serve to interpret government regulation and thereby help the public comply with regulatory requirements. Regulation is an integral part of a well-functioning economy, and can be used to achieve important social, economic and environmental goals, such as preventing anti-competitive conduct, and mitigating accident and security risks.

The regulatory reform forward work programme for LAISR (Annex 1) outlines a programme of work that aims to:

Competition policy refers to laws, cases, policies, rules and regulations of -government that are aimed at protecting and preserving the competitive process in an open and free marketplace with the goal of promoting economic efficiency and consumer welfare. Competition policy also entails advocacy of pro-competitive principles when the government formulates other laws, policies, rules or regulations. Competition policy is an important means to achieving a more productive and dynamic economy.

The competition policy forward work programme for LAISR (Annex 2) outlines a programme of work that aims to:

Corporate governance is the set of processes, customs, policies, laws and institutions affecting the way a corporation is directed, administered or controlled. Good governance ensures that corporations act in the interests of shareholders by transparently ensuring that investments create the highest possible rate of return. This creates benefits for the wider economy as it encourages efficient use of resources, stronger growth and macroeconomic stability.

The corporate governance forward work programme for LAISR (Annex 3) outlines a programme of work that aims to:

Public sector governance refers to the structure, laws, regulations and decision-making processes that govern, enable and constrain the provision of goods and services by government. The public sector exists to serve the needs of society. Good governance is associated with public confidence and trust in government institutions, as well as the effective and efficient delivery of goods and services to the public. It is also increasingly associated with enhancing national welfare and economic development. Key principles of good public sector governance are:

The Public Sector Governance Forward Work Programme for LAISR (Annex 4) outlines a series of activities that will support the strengthening of public sector governance in APEC member economies through:

Good economic and legal infrastructure ensures that property rights are protected, and contracts and regulations are enforced, and is therefore fundamental to the efficient operation of markets.

The strengthening economic and legal infrastructure forward work programme for LAISR (Annex 5) outlines a programme of work that aims to:

OBJECTIVES	REQUIREMENTS	ACTION ITEMS / OUTCOME	TIME-FRAME	CONSULT WITH	TARGET AUDIENCE	LED BY
Provide context for the discussion on regulatory reform within APEC	Develop the policy dialogue of the importance of regulatory reform	Roundtable discussion on regulatory reform Develop and disseminate issues paper on regulatory reform, addressing: − Regulation-making and review systems and processes; and − Reforms of existing regulation (for example, deregulation) − APEC economies to prepare individual submissions outlining their regulatory reform experiences, based on the issues paper.	October 2007: Circulate draft issues paper for roundtable for FotC comment November 2007: Incorporate FotC comments / suggestions and finalise issues paper Nov. 07 – Jan. 08: Economies to prepare submissions for roundtable, based on issues paper. EC 2 2008: Hold Roundtable discussion	OECD, experts in regulatory reform	Policy officials, regulators	Australia
	Raise awareness and highlight the status of regulatory reform in APEC economies	Study of regulatory burden within APEC economies Undertake a study on the state of regulatory burden in APEC economies, with the participation of international experts, think tanks and member economies	2^nd half 2007: Scope work responsibilities / TOR / Implementation road-map 2008: Collate & analyse data 2008 EC 1 & EC 2: Progress reports End 2008: Draft report Early 2009: Draft report to FotC members EC 1 2009: Presentation on report EC 2 2009: Table final report for endorsement	World Bank, OECD, CPDG, SELI, SMEWG	Policy officials, regulators	Singapore
Provide guidance for best practice regulation principles and practices within APEC	Promote best practice regulation making, review and enforcement	Regulatory reform best practice guidance material Develop comprehensive best practice regulation guidance material on regulatory reform, including regulation making, review and enforcement. The guidance material is to include economies’ useful tips and practical experiences, with modules to include: 1. Designing regulation making and review systems and processes 2. Consideration of alternatives to regulation 3. Regulation Impact Assessment, (including Cost-Benefit and Risk Analysis and incorporating Competition assessments into regulatory Impact Analysis 4. Consultation 5. Regulation review systems and processes 6. Enforcement and administration of regulation 7. Role of Regulatory Institutions in best practice regulatory reform	August / September 2007: Commence drafting outline of paper, based on template guidance December 2007: Circulate draft papers to FotC for review and comment December 2007 / January 2008: FotC to provide comments / suggestions EC I 2008: Table draft best practice guidance material for EC review / comment February 2008 / mid-2008: Refine draft best practice guidance material and incorporate EC suggestions. EC 2 2008: Table proposed best practice guidance material for endorsement by EC 2009: Present paper to SOM for endorsement, and ultimately present to Ministers for endorsement.	As appropriate, including the OECD, CPDG	Policy Officials, regulators	Coordination: Australia Modules: 1. Australia 2. t.b.d 3. t.b.d 4. Mexico 5. t.b.d 6. t.b.d 7. t.b.d
	Promote awareness of APEC economies’ experiences in regulatory reform	APEC-OECD Integrated Checklist on Regulatory Reform (‘the Checklist’) Economies’ to volunteer to undertake a self-assessment of their regulatory reform environments, utilising the Checklist OECD to collate information on economies’ Checklist self-assessments and prepare best practice guidance material.	Self Assessments: 2006: Hong Kong, China, United States, Chinese Taipei 2007: Republic of Korea, Australia 2008-2010: Various economies to volunteer to self-assess their regulatory reform environments by applying the Checklist. Checklist best practice guidance material Ongoing: OECD to review economies’ Checklist self-assessments	As appropriate	Policy Officials, regulators	Coordination: EC Chair’s Office
Build capacity amongst APEC economies to apply best practice regulation principles and implement practical regulatory reform measures.	Increase APEC economies’ capacity to implement improved regulation making, review and administration practices.	Technical assistance as appropriate Conduct workshops and / or policy discussions as appropriate to train APEC officials and share lessons on regulatory reform. Possible topics could include: – Applying best practice regulation principles and practices to a particular sector, eg Transport; – Explaining Regulatory Impact Analysis to managers and Administrators (utilising an existing OECD workshop framework) Coordinate work within APEC and develop ways of enhancing cooperation within the EC and other relevant APEC groups, as appropriate. Continue to sponsor capacity building programs, seminars and policy dialogues on regulatory reform. Conduct seminars for sharing information and experiences on regulatory reform process in the competition policy viewpoint jointly by regulatory authorities and competition authorities.	Ongoing 2008-2010	As appropriate, including the CPDG, SELI, OECD	Policy officials, regulators	As appropriate
Assess progress in regulatory reform amongst APEC economies and set direction for future work.	Review regulatory reform progress made by APEC economies and determine future direction for regulatory reform within APEC.	Summary of outputs and outcomes of work programme Review APEC economies’ experiences and views on regulatory reform in the context of the best practice guidance material delivered [see item 2(a) above]. Discuss the outcomes of the review at an EC meeting.	Mid 2009: Commence collation of data from APEC economies on regulatory reform views and experiences. Late 2009: Circulate draft of paper to APEC economies for review / comment Early 2010: refine paper and finalise EC II 2010: Table paper at EC II for APEC endorsement		Policy officials, regulators	To be decided
	Increase awareness amongst APEC ministers and policy officials of the importance of regulatory reform in enhancing an economy’s growth potential.	Ministerial Meeting on Structural reform Explore the idea of a Ministerial Meeting on Structural Reform to, among other things, increase awareness of the importance of regulatory reform in enhancing an economy’s growth potential.	Sept 2007 onward: Consideration by AMM/AELM and others of timing and agenda for possible Ministerial Meeting on Structural Reform. 2008-2010: Time-frame for possible Ministerial Meeting on Structural Reform	FMP, SOM, SELI, ABAC, host economy	APEC ministers, policy officials	Australia, Peru, Singapore, EC Chair

OBJECTIVES	REQUIREMENTS	ACTION ITEMS / OUTCOME	TIME-FRAME	CONSULT WITH	TARGET AUDIENCE	LED BY
Set the stage for productive discussion on competition policy within APEC.	Develop policy dialogue on the importance of competition policy in enhancing economic growth.	Seminar on competition policy and roundtable discussion on competition culture Hold a seminar on “The Role of Competition Policy in Structural Reform” to raise awareness of the importance of competition policy for economic growth and role that competition policy plays in achieving structural reform. Develop and disseminate an issues-based paper to APEC economies on ‘How to create a competition culture.’ Discuss the above paper at a roundtable discussion. Develop and disseminate another paper as a draft of Part 1 of the APEC Economic Policy Report 2008 that captures the key insights and messages of the competition seminar and the roundtable discussion. Disseminate the APEC Economic Policy Report 2008.	27 June 2007 Cairns, Australia prior to EC2 2007 EC2 2007 EC1 2008 Sept 2008	SELI, CPDG SELI, CPDG (share outcomes of seminar and roundtable discussion)	Competition policy makers and officials, competition policy officials APEC Leaders, APEC Ministers, policy officials, business people	Japan, Australia, Indonesia Australia Australia, EC Chair’s Office Japan EC Chair’s Office
	Highlight agreed (non-binding) principles on competition policy that will serve as the basis for subsequent discussion.	Good practice principles for competition and regulatory reform Disseminate the “APEC Principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory Reform”.	2007 (ongoing)		Policy officials	Coordinator: EC Chair’s Office
	Stocktake of activities done to date on competition policy within APEC and by other international fora and organisations.	Share information and experiences on competition policy Share reports on competition policy, eg, CPDG members’ reports on update and development of competition policy and law and regulatory reform. Assemble a list of key references for distribution and discussion. Identify key elements of previous work undertaken on competition policy by other organisations such as OECD, which is relevant to APEC’s competition policy agenda. Invite CPDG Convenor to brief/ update the EC on: - Review of Collective Action Plans (CAPs) regarding competition; and Updating the APEC Competition Policy and Law Database.	EC1 or EC2 2008 and CPDG 2008 (on-going, where appropriate)	CPDG	Policy officials	Hong Kong, China EC Chair’s Office
Identify areas of need for competition policy.	Review progress in each APEC economy to identify economy-specific and cross-cutting regional challenges and priorities in the Asia-Pacific.	APEC Economic Policy Report on competition policy Develop and disseminate a template and guidance to assist economies in developing Individual Economy Reports on activities to enhance domestic competition policy over the last 10 years and identify key priorities and challenges in future years. [Outcomes would be incorporated in the 2008 APEC Economic Policy Report, subject to EC’s endorsement.] Encourage economies to submit Individual Economy Reports. Develop a paper identifying the economy-specific and cross-cutting regional challenges and priorities to help formulate the focus of future work. The paper will be based on priorities identified in Individual Economy Reports and Chapter 1 of the 2008 APEC Economic Policy Report. (Subject to EC’s decision at 2008, the timeframe of this action item will be revisited).	EC1 2008 EC1 2008 EC1 2009	SELI, CPDG (share outcomes)	Policy officials	EC Chair’s Office EC Chair’s Office To be decided
Promote better understanding of practical measures to strengthen competition policy.	Increase APEC economies’ understanding of practical measures to strengthen competition policy.	Seminar on competition policy, including institutional arrangements for enforcement Organise a seminar covering a range of issues including institutional arrangements and enforcement (cf. Seminar on “The Role of Competition Policy in Structural Reform”). The enforcement session will focus on the elements of an effective competition enforcement regime, and provide practical guidance to competition authorities.	27 June 2007, Cairns, Australia	CPDG, SELI,	Competition policy makers and officials;, competition policy officials	Japan
	Raise awareness of the use of competition policy in infrastructure markets.	Seminar on competition in key infrastructure sectors Develop a seminar to explore practical guidance on how Governments can facilitate competitive markets in key infrastructure sectors such as transport, electricity, telecommunications etc. (Include develop and disseminate a paper on the importance of introducing competition policy in infrastructure markets, eg, how Governments can ensure that natural infrastructure monopolies operate most efficiently.	EC2 2008	CPDG, TELWG, EWG, TPTWG	Competition policy makers and officials;, competition policy officials	Peru
Capacity building to implement practical measures.	Increase APEC economies’ capacity to implement improved competition policy practices.	Workshop on competition policy as appropriate Conduct workshops and policy discussions as appropriate to train APEC officials and share lessons on the enhancement of competition policy. Examples of possible topics include: merger analysis, introduction of access regime etc. (To avoid duplication, we will consult relevant fora before concrete details of the proposed workshops are drawn up). Coordinating work within APEC: to promote dialogue by inviting eg, Convenor of CPDG and Chair of SELI to brief and update EC on relevant activities and developing ways of enhancing cooperation of the EC with the other relevant APEC groups, as appropriate.	2008-2010 Ongoing	CPDG, SELI, FMP, OECD, TPTWG, TELWG, EWG	Policy officials	As appropriate, Thailand (potential co-sponsor) EC Chair’s Office
Stocktake of progress in competition policy and set direction of future work.	Review progress and future plans for competition policy by APEC economies.	Summary of outputs and outcomes of work programme Develop and disseminate a paper reviewing APEC economies’ experiences with implementing the APEC principles to enhance competition policy and regulatory reform. Discuss the outcomes of the review at an EC meeting.	2010	CPDG, SELI, IEG, FMP, SME-WG	Policy officials APEC Ministers, policy officials	To be decided
	Set direction of future work on competition policy in APEC	Ministerial Meeting on Structural Reform Explore the idea of a Ministerial meeting on structural reform to, among other things, provide high-level direction to future competition policy work within APEC.	Sept 2007 onward: Consideration by AMM/AELM and others of timing and agenda for possible Ministerial Meeting on Structural Reform 2008-2010: Time-frame for possible Ministerial Meeting on Structural Reform	CPDG, SELI, IEG, SME-WG, FMP, ABAC, host economy	APEC Ministers, policy officials	Australia, Peru, Singapore, EC Chair

OBJECTIVES	REQUIREMENTS	ACTION ITEMS / OUTCOME	TIME-FRAME	CONSULT WITH	TARGET AUDIENCE	LED BY
Set the stage for productive discussion on corporate governance within APEC.	Highlight agreed global principles (from OECD) on corporate governance that will serve as the basis for subsequent discussion.	Good practice principles for corporate governance Disseminate the OECD’s “Principles of Corporate Governance” and “Guidelines on Corporate Governance of SOEs.” Draw attention to past APEC work on corporate governance, including the APEC Initiative on Corporate Governance launched by Finance Ministers in 1998 and the Corporate Governance Pathfinder Initiative involving Australia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, and Singapore. Share the PECC “Guidelines for Good Corporate Governance Practice” endorsed by APEC ministers in 2001.	EC2 2007	FMP, OECD	Policy officials, regulators	United States of America
	Propose an agenda and request participation from the appropriate policymakers and regulators in the process	Agenda on corporate governance Propose an agenda on corporate governance in line with the priorities spelled out below (including a policy-level discussion on corporate governance at the EC1 meeting in Feb 2008 and a workshop at EC 2 in Sept 2008). Request that each involve its relevant experts in policy dialogue and seminar programs where possible.	EC2 2007	FMP, OECD, ABAC, World Bank, IMF	Policy officials, regulators	United States of America
	Review work done to date on corporate governance within APEC.	Review work on corporate governance Share copies of the latest report by the APEC Anti-Corruption Task Force, which discusses corporate governance, and draw attention to economies’ commitments to tackle corporate governance issues. Stress that the EC is an appropriate forum to take APEC’s corporate governance work forward in greater detail, because it has a closer nexus to the most relevant policymakers and regulators.	EC2 2007	FMP, ACT	Policy officials, regulators	United States of America
Identify areas of need for strengthening corporate governance.	Review progress in each APEC economy to identify economy-specific and cross-cutting regional challenges in the Asia-Pacific, building on the work of the OECD.	Review progress on corporate governance Disseminate the findings of recent OECD regional studies on Asia and Latin America. Request that the EC make corporate governance the subject of its 2009 APEC Economic Policy Report. Encourage APEC economies to undertake self-assessments and contribute information for the 2009 APEC Economic Policy Report. Support APEC economies undertaking a corporate governance ROSC by the World Bank /IMF if they have not done so already.	EC1 2008	FMP, OECD, ABAC, World Bank, possibly BMC (in the fall), ACTTF (to strengthen public-private partnerships on anticorruption, corporate governance, and transparency principles)	Policy officials, regulators	United States of America
Build consensus on best practices in corporate governance.	Engage key policy officials and regulators to identify priorities for strengthening corporate governance and plan for implementation	Roundtable discussion on corporate governance Hold a policy-level discussion in the EC on corporate governance challenges and priorities, including transparency and disclosure, shareholder rights and participation, and board responsibilities. Discuss the particular challenges and opportunities of corporate governance in SOEs. Affirm or endorse the “OECD Principles of Corporate Governance” and develop a plan for implementation of the principles in an Asia-Pacific context. Base implementation plan in part on a comparison of recent Asian and Latin American experiences. Develop a short paper to outline EC1 policy discussion and key conclusions.	EC1 2008	FMP, regulators, OECD, IMF, ABAC, World Bank	Policy officials, regulators	United States of America
Build capacity to implement practical measures.	Increase APEC economies’ capacity to implement improved laws and regulations related to corporate governance.	Technical assistance as necessary Discuss the possibility of a technical assistance program within APEC to help interested member economies implement laws and regulations to improve corporate governance in the private sector and in SOEs, in line with ROSC recommendations and OECD principles.	EC1/2 2008	FMP, ABAC	Policy officials and regulators	United States of America
	Use expertise from the private sector and international organizations to help build capacity.	Workshop on corporate governance reform Organize a workshop on corporate governance reform, inviting World Bank/IMF/OECD experts, ABAC representatives, relevant think tanks in the APEC region, and officials from member economies. Each side would share its perspectives on keys to effective implementation of corporate governance reforms. Examples of possible discussion topics include cross-border proxy voting, accounting standards in listing requirements, and dual listings. Include participants from the APEC Financial Regulators Training Initiative in the process. Develop a paper on the key conclusions of the workshop. Further develop the paper for inclusion in the 2009 APEC Economic Policy Report. Organize follow-up seminars as appropriate.	EC2 2008	FMP, OECD, IMF, ABAC, World Bank, ADB, think tanks	Policy officials, regulators, private sector practitioners	United States of America
Increase awareness of the elements of sound corporate governance.	Sharing information between the public and private sector in APEC economies.	Seminar on promoting good governance for SMEs Organize a seminar on promoting good governance for SMEs. Conduct additional seminars or workshops as appropriate to train APEC officials and share lessons learned from the implementation process begun in 2008.	2009 2009	ABAC, SME-WG FMP, OECD, World Bank, think tanks, ABAC	Policy officials, private sector Policy officials, regulators, practitioners, and industry groups	Thailand To be decided
Stocktake of progress in strengthening corporate governance and set direction of future work.	Review corporate governance reforms undertaken in recent years by APEC economies.	APEC Economic Policy Report on corporate governance Develop and disseminate the 2009 APEC Economic Policy Report, focusing on corporate governance and highlighting APEC economies’ experience with implementing corporate governance reform.	2008/2009	FMP, OECD, World Bank, think tanks, ABAC	Policy officials, regulators, practitioners, and industry groups	United States of America

OBJECTIVES	REQUIREMENTS	ACTION ITEMS / OUTCOME	TIME-FRAME	CONSULT WITH	TARGET AUDIENCE	LED BY
Set the stage for productive discussion on public sector governance within APEC.	Raise awareness of the importance of public sector governance to the success of structural reform.	Seminar on public sector governance Hold a seminar on public sector governance to raise awareness on the importance of public sector governance to the success of structural reform and share a broad range of APEC economy experiences with public sector governance reform	EC2 2006	World Bank	Policy officials	New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia
	Identify and disseminate good practice principles in public sector governance.	APEC Economic Policy Report on public sector governance Develop and disseminate a paper on good practices in public sector governance based on the seminar held in September 2006. Seek endorsement to use the paper to form the basis of Part 1 of the APEC Economic Policy Report 2007. Disseminate the APEC Economic Policy Report 2007	EC1 2007 EC1 2007 Sept 2007	FMP, ACT, ABAC	APEC Leaders, APEC Ministers, policy officials, business people	New Zealand New Zealand EC Chair’s Office
	Identify work done to date on public sector governance within APEC and by other international fora and organisations.	Bibliography of resources on public sector governance Assemble a bibliography of relevant resources to distribute and discuss at an EC meeting and make available to EC members on the APEC EC Collaboration Site.	EC1 2008	FMP, ACT, World Bank, IMF, ADB, OECD, ABAC, PECC, APEC Study Centre	Policy officials	New Zealand
Identify areas of need for strengthening public sector governance.	Review progress in each APEC economy to identify economy-specific and cross-cutting regional challenges and priorities in the Asia-Pacific	Review APEC Economic Policy Report on public sector governance Develop and disseminate a template and guidance to assist economies in developing Individual Economy Reports on domestic public sector governance reform activities over the last 10 years and identify key priorities and challenges in future years. Encourage economies to submit Individual Economy Reports by 4 June 2006. Develop a paper identifying the economy-specific and cross-cutting regional challenges and priorities identified by Individual Economy Reports, and the Capacity Building Matrix on Anti-corruption, to inform the focus of future work. Discuss key lessons and priorities identified in Individual Economy Reports.	Intersessionally, 2007 EC1 2007 EC1 2008 EC2 2008		Policy officials	EC Chair’s Office EC Chair’s Office New Zealand Led by New Zealand
Promote better understanding of practical measures to strengthen public sector governance.	Increase APEC economies’ understanding of practical measures to strengthen public sector governance.	Good practice principles for public sector governance Develop and seek EC endorsement of good practice principles for public sector governance, drawing on previous work. Policy dialogue on public sector governance Hold a policy dialogue on practical measures to strengthen public sector governance. Topic to be decided. Hold a policy dialogue(s) on practical measures to strengthen public sector governance, focusing on challenges and priorities identified through the review of Individual Economy Reports. Examples of possible topics include: managing performance; the design of public organisations; fiscal transparency (drawing on work from the FMP); the link between public confidence and trust; and how to promote risk-based management while addressing political risk.	EC2 2008 EC1 2008 2008	FMP, ACT, World Bank, IMF, ADB, OECD, ABAC As appropriate TEL, ECSG, OECD	Policy officials Policy officials Policy officials	To be decided Canada As appropriate
	Increase APEC economies’ understanding of the important role of ICTs in enabling public sector governance	Workshop on e-governance Workshop on e-governance. A one-day public sector governance workshop to be held on the margins of ECI, 2008. The purpose of this workshop is to raise the awareness of the important role of ICTs in enabling public sector governance. The workshop will also allow member economies to share the knowledge, experiences and lessons learned from their different perspectives.	EC1 2008	TEL, ACT	Senior IT officials, Chief Information Officers (CIOS) and key practitioners (approx 40 participants)	Chinese Taipei, New Zealand
	Increase APEC economies’ understanding of how government performance and results management can strengthen public sector governance.	Workshop on government performance and results management Workshop on Government Performance & Results Management. A 2-day workshop in government performance and results management. The purpose of this workshop is to understand the best practices of the macro- and micro-level performance management. The workshop will also allow economies to share the knowledge, experiences and lessons learned from their different perspectives.	March/ April 2008	ACT, OECD	Policy officials (max of 40 participants)	Chinese Taipei, New Zealand
4. Capacity building to implement practical measures.	Increase APEC economies’ capacity to implement improved public sector governance practices.	Workshops on public sector governance as appropriate Conduct workshops and policy discussions as appropriate to train APEC officials and share lessons on the effective implementation of public sector governance reforms.	2008-2009	FMP, ACT, World Bank, IMF, ADB, OECD, ABAC	Policy officials	As appropriate
Increase awareness of the elements of sound public sector governance.	Increase awareness amongst APEC Ministers and policy officials of the elements of sound public sector governance.	Ministerial Meeting on Structural Reform Explore the idea of a Ministerial Meeting on Structural Reform to, among other things, increase awareness of the elements of sound public sector governance.	Sept 2007 onward: Consideration by AMM/AELM and others of timing and agenda for possible Ministerial Meeting on Structural Reform. 2008-2010: Time-frame for possible Ministerial Meeting on Structural Reform	FMP, SOM, ACT, ABAC, host economy	APEC Ministers, policy officials,	Australia, Peru, Singapore, EC Chair
Stocktake of progress in strengthening public sector governance and set direction of future work.	Review public sector governance reforms undertaken in recent years by APEC economies.	Summary of outputs and outcomes of work programme Develop and disseminate a paper reviewing APEC economies’ experiences with implementing the good practice principles for public sector governance (scheduled to be endorsed in 2008). Discuss the outcomes of the review at an EC meeting.	2010	FMP, ACT, World Bank, IMF, ADB, OECD, ABAC	Policy officials	To be decided

Annex 5: Strengthening Economic and Legal Infrastructure (SELI) Forward Work Programme for LAISR

OBJECTIVES	REQUIREMENTS	ACTION ITEMS / OUTCOME	TIMING	CONSULT WITH	TARGET AUDIENCE	LED BY
Set the stage for productive discussion on strengthening economic and legal infrastructure within APEC.	Identify work done to date on strengthening economic and legal infrastructure within APEC and by other international fora and organisations.	Share reports on strengthening economic and legal infrastructure Share existing reports on strengthening economic and legal infrastructure as below: - annual voluntary progress reports on strengthening economic and legal infrastructure	2007-2010	SELI, CPDG, international institutions, academics	Government officials and business people in charge of economic legal affairs	SELI Chair
	Build a network for information exchange regarding strengthening the economic legal infrastructure.	Build a network for information exchange on strengthening economic and legal infrastructure Identify and develop a database of contact points for strengthening the economic legal infrastructure, such as agencies directly involved in economic laws in each economy. Make available to EC members on the EC Collaboration site. Construct and develop cooperative relations with international fora and organizations concerning economic legal affairs such as the Asian Law Institute (ASLI) by keeping them informed of the activities of the EC and SELI. Establish the “APEC Legal Information Portal” to provide information on economic legal infrastructure.	SELI1, EC1 2008 (ongoing) 2008 (ongoing) SELI2, EC2 2008 (ongoing)	SELI, CPDG, international institutions, academics	Government officials and business people in charge of economic legal affairs	SELI Chair SELI Chair Australia
Identify areas of need for strengthening economic and legal infrastructure.	Review progress of strengthening the economic legal infrastructure in each APEC economy.	Review progress on strengthening economic and legal infrastructure Encourage economies to submit the annual voluntary progress report on strengthening economic and legal infrastructure for 2007 to SELI. Introduce and share best practice and advanced measures on strengthening economic infrastructure based on the annual voluntary progress report on SELI. Conduct a comparative analysis on economic legal infrastructure in Asia-Pacific region.	SELI2 2007 SELI1, EC1 2008 2008-2010	SELI, CPDG, international institutions, academics	Government officials and business people in charge of economic legal affairs	SELI Chair SELI Chair SELI Chair
	Review progress and future plans for strengthening economic and legal infrastructure by APEC economies.	Feasibility study and workshop on strengthening economic and legal infrastructure Conduct a feasibility study of strengthening economic legal infrastructure for regional economic integration and hold a workshop to share the results of the study.	SELI2, EC2 2008	SELI, CPDG, IEG, FMP, SME-WG	APEC Ministers, Government officials and business people in charge of economic legal affairs	Japan
	Identify priority issues to be tackled by each economy on strengthening the economic legal infrastructure in the process of business activities in APEC.	Review progress on strengthening economic and legal infrastructure Develop a paper identifying the economy-specific and cross-cutting regional challenges and priorities to inform the focus of future work. The paper will be based on information drawn from voluntary progress reports, the survey on investment liberalization and facilitation (IEG), and the World Bank “Ease of Doing Business” work (SME-WG). Discuss key lessons and priorities identified by progress reports and other surveys at the EC meeting. Report on cross-border mergers and acquisitions Develop a consultancy report to estimate the impact of M&As on greenfield FDI, external trade and economic growth in the APEC economies. The paper will make reference to previous studies on M&As. Based on the empirical results obtained, policy implications on trade liberalisation, investment flow, and market and industry regulations (or deregulations).	EC2 2007 EC2 2007 2007 - 2009	SELI, CPDG, IEG, SMEWG, international institutions (eg, WB), academics SELI, CPDG, IEG, FMP and academics		SELI Chair, ABAC SELI Chair Hong Kong, China
Build consensus on best practices in strengthening the economic legal infrastructure	Share information on good approaches to economic laws adopted by other international fora.	Information sharing on best practices for strengthening economic and legal infrastructure Promote information sharing on best practices in strengthening economic and legal infrastructure by disseminating: - OECD Principles of Corporate Governance (including Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-owned Enterprises); and - The European Corporate Statute.	2008	SELI, CPDG, international institutions (eg, OECD), academics	Government officials and business people in charge of economic legal affairs	SELI Chair, United States of America
Promote better understanding of practical measures to strengthen economic and legal infrastructure.	Increase APEC economies’ understanding of practical measures to strengthen economic and legal infrastructure.	Seminar and/or Roundtable discussion on strengthening economic and legal infrastructure theme Hold a seminar on SELI themes such as the corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, the corporate accounting system and State-Owned Enterprises. Hold policy dialogue(s) and develop papers on practical measures to strengthen economic and legal infrastructure, focusing on challenges and priorities identified through the review of voluntary progress reports and other material, based on the above seminar, its findings, and ramifications for APEC. Examples of possible topics include: mechanisms for reviewing existing and proposed laws, regulations and policies; fighting corruption and ensuring transparency. Develop and disseminate a paper capturing the insights from the seminar. Seek endorsement to use this paper to form the basis of Part 1 of the APEC Economic Policy Report 2010.	EC1 2009 EC2 2009 EC1 2010	SELI, CPDG, international institutions, academics	Government officials and business people in charge of economic legal affairs	SELI Chair, Voluntary economy(ies)
Capacity building to implement practical measures.	Increase APEC economies’ capacity to enhance laws and regulations and procedures related to economic and legal infrastructure.	Capacity building as necessary Report-back to EC on the key outcomes of the capacity building workshop on combating corruption related to money laundering (ACT, August 2007). Provide targeted and tailor-made capacity building projects, such as training seminars, workshops, and exchanges of professionals, in a range of areas. Keep the EC informed of relevant capacity building projects being undertaken by SELI	EC1 2008 2007-2010	ACT SELI, CPDG, international institutions (eg OECD), academics	Government officials and business people in charge of economic legal affairs	Thailand SELI Chair, Voluntary economy(ies) SELI Chair
Increase awareness of the elements of sound economic and legal infrastructure.	Raise awareness among APEC Ministers and policy officials of the importance of economic and legal infrastructure to sustained economic development.	Ministerial Meeting on Structural Reform Explore the idea of a Ministerial meeting on Structural Reform to, among other things, increase awareness of the importance of economic and legal infrastructure to sustained economic development and the elements of sound economic and legal infrastructure. APEC Economic Policy Report on strengthening economic and legal infrastructure Disseminate APEC Economic Policy Report 2010 (dealing with SELI as one of the main themes of the report).	Sept 2007 onward: Consideration by AMM/AELM and others of timing and agenda for possible Ministerial Meeting on Structural Reform 2008-2010: Time-frame for possible Ministerial Meeting on Structural Reform EC2 2010	SELI, CPDG, IEG, SME-WG, FMP, ABAC, host economy	APEC Ministers, Government officials and business people in charge of economic legal affairs	Australia, Peru, Singapore, EC Chair SELI Chair
Stocktake of progress in strengthening economic and legal infrastructure and set direction of future work.	Set direction of future work on strengthening economic and legal infrastructure in APEC.	Summary of outputs and outcomes of work programme Develop and disseminate a paper reviewing APEC economies’ experiences with strengthening economic and legal infrastructure. Discuss the outcomes of the review at an EC meeting.	EC2 2010 EC2 2010	SELI, CPDG, IEG, SME-WG, FMP, ABAC, host economy	APEC Ministers, Government officials and business people in charge of economic legal affairs	SELI Chair SELI Chair

APEC Agreements and Declarations

ECONOMIC COMMITTEE FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME FOR LAISR