1. The symposium on the “Economic Integration and the Investment Climates in ASEAN Countries: Perspectives from Taiwan Investors” was jointly organized by the Center for Asia-Pacific Area Studies (CAPAS), Academia Sinica, Taiwan, the ASEAN Studies Centre (ASC), Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore, and the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER), Taiwan, on 17 November 2008 in Taipei. The programme is presented in Annex I. The objective of the expert discussion was to help Taiwanese investors understand the ASEAN economic integration process and get their perspectives on the investment climate in ASEAN.

2. The symposium involved both Taiwan and ASEAN representatives, who exchanged their views on ASEAN-Taiwan socioeconomic relations, ASEAN economic integration and ASEAN's bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Later, a roundtable discussion with Taiwanese scholars, business leaders, consultants and other opinion makers dealt with the benefits and challenges faced by Taishang in investing in ASEAN. They also voiced their views on the ASEAN economic integration and provided some policy inputs where Taiwan and ASEAN can work together.