Digitalization Essential for Business Survival: APEC Finance Ministers

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digitalization of membership economies, which has become an essential factor in a company's survival, reported in a unified statement released by finance ministers of representing APEC member countries.

Convened under the chairmanship of Malaysian Minister of Finance Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, APEC finance ministers assembled over a virtual conference due to the pandemic, as with many other scheduled APEC meetings. The assessment was among the many points in the statement released after the finance minister representative conference regarding how countries in the region should lessen their economies' pandemic impact.

Whether a company could embrace digitalization would make or break its business ventures post-pandemic, the statement pointed that it was especially critical for the MSMEs as well as some vulnerable groups.

In the 21-point statement, the meeting also recognized the value of digital tools and the digital economy's role in minimizing the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, implementing the APEC Connectivity Blueprint 2015-2025, in particular in the area of financial infrastructure to enhance connectivity by economic cooperation. The finance ministers expressed welcoming the APEC Roadmap on Digital Financial Inclusion and have noted the emerging risks of illicit financing in light of social distancing measures, which should be duly addressed.

As a membership country, Taiwan's Finance Minister Sheu Yu-jer was seen attending the meeting in a group virtual photo, representing Chinese Taipei.