Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in the context of "Asia-Pacific"

The Asia-Pacific (APAC), also known as the Indo-Pacific, is a major geopolitical and economic region of the world adjoining the western Pacific Ocean and comprising the part of the Old World located outside the EMEA region. The region's precise boundaries vary depending on context, but countries and territories in the Far East (East Asia, North Asia, and Southeast Asia) and Oceania are often included while countries in Central Asia and South Asia are also sometimes included. In a wider context, even countries and territories in West Asia and the Pacific-adjoining countries in the Americas can be included. For example, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) includes five economies (Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and the United States) in the New World (more standardly referred to as the Western Hemisphere). The term has become popular since the late 1980s in commerce, finance, and politics. Despite the heterogeneity of the regions' economies, most individual nations within the zone are emerging markets experiencing significant growth. Sometimes, the notion of "Asia-Pacific excluding Japan" (APEJ) is considered useful.

The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) is a trade bloc agreement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations supporting local trade and manufacturing in all ASEAN countries, and facilitating economic integration with regional and international allies. It stands as one of the largest and most important free trade areas (FTA) in the world, and together with its network of dialogue partners, drove some of the world's largest multilateral forums and blocs, including Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, East Asia Summit and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

The AFTA agreement was signed on 28 January 1992 in Singapore. When the AFTA agreement was originally signed, ASEAN had six members, namely, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Vietnam joined in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997 and Cambodia in 1999. AFTA now comprises the ten countries of ASEAN. All the four latecomers were required to sign the AFTA agreement to join ASEAN, but were given longer time frames in which to meet AFTA's tariff reduction obligations.

The APEC Indonesia 2013 was the 25th annual gathering of APEC leaders. It was held in Bali on 5–7 October 2013. The summit also saw the revival of wearing national dress, which had been explicitly discontinued by US President Barack Obama two years prior.

The economy of Singapore is a highly developed mixed market economy with dirigiste characteristics. Singapore's economy has been consistently ranked as the most open, competitive and pro-business in the world. It is also the 3rd least corrupt in the world. Singapore has low tax-rates and the highest per-capita GDP in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is headquartered in Singapore.

Alongside the business-friendly reputation for global and local privately held companies and public companies, various national state-owned enterprises play a substantial role in Singapore's economy. The sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings holds majority stakes in several of the nation's largest bellwether companies, such as Singapore Airlines, Singtel, ST Engineering and Mediacorp. With regard to foreign direct investment (FDI), the Singaporean economy is a major FDI outflow-financier in the world. In addition, throughout its history, Singapore has benefited from the large inward flows of FDI from global investors, financial institutions and multinational corporations (MNCs) due to its highly attractive investment climate along with a stable and conducive political environment throughout its modern years.

The Republic of China (Taiwan) joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 1991 together with People's Republic of China and British Hong Kong.

The heads of government of all APEC member economies meet annually in a summit called the "APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting", rotating in location among APEC's member economies. However, owing to the nature of the Economic Forum of APEC and the One China policy, the president of the Republic of China is not allowed to appear in APEC and thus appoints a special envoy every year to attend the APEC meeting under the name Chinese Taipei.

The economy of Vietnam is a developing mixed socialist-oriented market economy. It is the 33rd-largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and the 26th-largest economy in the world by purchasing power parity (PPP). It is a lower-middle income country with a low cost of living. Vietnam is a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the World Trade Organization.

Since the mid-1980s, through the Đổi Mới reform period, Vietnam has made a shift from a highly centralized planned economy to a mixed economy. Before, South Vietnam was reliant on U.S. aid, while North Vietnam and reunified Vietnam relied on communist aid until the Soviet Union's dissolution.

The economy of the Philippines is an emerging market, and considered as a newly industrialized country in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2025, the Philippine economy is estimated to be at ₱28.50 trillion ($497.5 billion), making it the world's 32nd largest by nominal GDP and 9th largest in Asia according to the International Monetary Fund.

The Philippine economy is a service-oriented economy, with relatively more modest contributions from the manufacturing and agriculture sectors. It has experienced significant economic growth and transformation in the past, posting one of the highest GDP growth rates in Asia. With an average annual growth rate of around 6 percent since 2010, the country has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. The Philippines is a founding member of the United Nations, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, East Asia Summit and the World Trade Organization. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila.