The Chamber
The Chile-ASEAN Chamber of Commerce Association is a non-profit entity that was incorporated in Chile in April 2018. It is also known as the Business Council Chile-ASEAN A.G., the Chile-ASEAN Chamber of Commerce A.G. and the Chile-ASEAN Business Council A.G.
As a trade association, the Chamber’s aim is to promote foreign trade, investment, tourism and international collaboration between Chile and the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Chamber acts as the focal point of the private sector, coordinator and solution provider, facilitating business connections and bringing together public and private actors in Chile and the ASEAN countries.
The Chamber will facilitate the development of a business community between both regions, mainly through the network of allied public and private institutions in Chile and the ASEAN countries, where the institutions act as intermediaries to connect their respective constituent members. This model will permit a greater degree of openness and reliability in the development of commercial relations in addition to promoting bilateral opportunities.
Today the Chamber has strategic alliances with public institutions (embassies, offices and governmental units, etc.) and private institutions (chambers of commerce, business associations, etc.) of the following countries: the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
A Future to be Build
We want a Chile connected to the most dynamic region in the world, becoming a benchmark for international business and investments and targeting integration between the ASEAN and Latin American regions. We want a diversified Chile in terms of foreign trade, with more commercial partners, greater company engagement, especially SMEs and a participating role in global value chains. We want a Chile with a renewed manufacturing sector, focused on the 4.0 Economy and sustainability. We want to strengthen the leadership of the private sector with a greater international focus and through the creation of sectorial plans that last, in order to attract strategic investments that lead to development. We want to bring Chile and our neighboring countries closer to the blue ocean that is now ASEAN.
How We will Build It
Primary Objectives
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Be a reference point in commercial and non-commercial relations between Chile and ASEAN.
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Act as a counterpart of the private sector for the ASEAN Committee in Santiago and bilaterally with the ASEAN embassies in Chile.
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Establish a network of companies, private sector associations, public entities and related institutions in Chile and ASEAN-6.
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Create a multi-sector community in Chile with an interest in ASEAN.
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Connect mutual interests between Chile and ASEAN companies in trade, investment and tourism.
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Promote cultural exchange, human capital mobility and technology transfer between both regions.
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Generate new business opportunities and collaboration
Secondary Objectives
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Generate and disseminate information about opportunities in ASEAN nations through newsletters, events, workshops, seminars and fairs.
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Offer a variety of solutions for and by Members of the Chamber in order to facilitate business with ASEAN.
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Encourage the participation of SMEs in foreign trade.
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Establish work committees directed and composed by members of the Chamber.
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Facilitate entry into the market for ASEAN companies entering Chile and Latin America.
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Attract ASEAN investment to Chile.
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Increase interest in commercial missions to and from ASEAN.
The Chamber will intermediate solutions that seek to facilitate access to the ASEAN markets. These solutions are services offered by the partners and the associated entities, articulated and strengthened by the Chamber. The solutions include but are not limited to:
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Business matching / Facilitation of business contacts
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Provision of associated services in the foreign trade chain
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Provision of associated services to facilitate investment from and to ASEAN
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Trade missions to ASEAN
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Workshops and seminars
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Information and market intelligence
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Translation and interpretation
The Members of the Chamber include companies with extensive business experience with ASEAN countries as well as companies that are exploring new business opportunities. The areas of expertise of Chamber partners include among others:
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Exports and imports
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Production and manufacturing
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Travel and tourism
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Investments
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Telecommunications
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Architecture and construction
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Sciences and technology
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Logistics
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Services of various kinds (legal, consulting, services for SMEs, foreign trade, etc.)
History
The initiative to form a Chamber of Commerce between Chile and the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was born in mid-2016 and became the provisional Chile-ASEAN Business Council in 2017, recognized by the ASEAN Committee in Santiago (Committee of the five ASEAN embassies with permanent diplomatic representation in Chile: the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam), as well as the non-resident Embassy of Singapore in Chile. The Chile-ASEAN Business Council has established work networks with government agencies, chambers of commerce, associations of various kinds and companies in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. In 2018, this network was transferred to the Chile-ASEAN Chamber of Commerce A.G.
To date, several missions have been organized to Southeast Asia to strengthen alliances with other public and private organizations. These missions include participating in THAIFEX, sponsoring the first official mission of Start-up Chile of CORFO to Thailand in December 2017 and co-organizing the second mission in May 2018. In this second mission a Chilean delegation of 14 people participated -10 of them entrepreneurs – and a Chilean pavilion was included in the largest start-up event in the region. At the same time, workshops have been given to Chilean companies and entrepreneurs about ASEAN and its opportunities and business information has been generated and collected to highlight potential areas for foreign trade. Furthermore, the Chamber has actively participated in the reception of ASEAN business delegations to Chile, facilitating business matching, coordinating visits and also organizing seminars and events.