5 PRA NEWS UPDATES PHILIPPINE RETAILING
FAPRA Heads of Delegation Meeting Held in Tokyo
By Bing“ BM” Miranda PRA Secretary General Co-Editor in Chief, Philippine Retailing Magazine
80 Private Sector Leaders Explore Priority Agenda for ASEAN 2026
By ASEAN Business Advisory Council Philippines
The Federation of Asia Pacific Retailers Associations( FAPRA) recently held its Heads of Delegation( HOD) Meeting in Tokyo, Japan, on October 15-17, 2025. The gathering brought together representatives from 12 member associations across the Asia-Pacific region, all united in their mission to strengthen collaboration and exchange insights within the retail community.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the China General Chamber of Commerce( CGCC), Hong Kong Retail Management Association( HKRMA), Retail Association of India( RAI), Asoasi Pengusaha Ritel Indonesia( APRINDO), Japan Retailers Association( JRA), Korea Retailers Association( KRA), Malaysia Retailers Association( MRA), Myanmar Retailers Association( MMRA), Philippine Retailers Association( PRA), Singapore Retailers Association( SRA), Sri Lanka Retailers Association( SLRA), and the Thailand Retailers Association( TRA).
The annual HOD meeting serves as a vital platform for members to discuss key industry issues, elect council members, and decide on future host countries for the prestigious Asia Pacific Retailers Convention and Exhibition( APRCE).
A major highlight of this year’ s meeting was the discussion on strengthening collaboration within the Asia-Pacific retail community, with a focus on shared initiatives to promote innovation, sustainability, and digital transformation across the region’ s retail landscape.
Preparations for the upcoming 22nd Asia Pacific Retailers Convention and Exhibition( APRCE) were also a central topic. The prestigious event, recognized as Asia-Pacific’ s largest and most influential retail gathering, is set to be held in Tokyo, Japan, from October 7 to 10, 2026. Delegates exchanged insights on the event’ s theme, program content, and opportunities to foster meaningful connections among retailers, suppliers, and technology partners.
Representing the PRA at the meeting were PRA President and HOD Alice Liu and PRA Chairman Roberto Claudio, who, along with their counterparts, reaffirmed FAPRA’ s shared commitment to advancing the growth, innovation, and unity of the retail industry in the Asia-Pacific region.
Incoming ASEAN Business Advisory Council( ASEAN-BAC) chair Joey Concepcion led a gathering of some of the country ' s largest corporations and business organizations last Oct. 15, 2025 at the Grand Hyatt Manila for a consultative meeting to narrow down the private sector agenda for the 2026 Philippines chairship of the ASEAN.
The Philippines ' chairship is seen as an opportunity for the private sector to help shape the region ' s economic future as it works toward regional economic integration. During the meeting, ASEAN BAC Philippines( ASEAN-BAC PH) presented initiatives and activities that could serve as entry points for collaboration with private sector partners. These include the ASEAN Business Investment Summit, the ASEAN Business Awards, and the Leaders ' and Dialogue Partners Meetings with Business.
Several legacy projects are also seen as opportunities for long-term engagement, including the ASEAN Food Security Alliance, an online Learning Management System designed for ASEAN entrepreneurs, initiatives on the digital economy, and planned regional centers for excellence to be headquartered in the Philippines, specifically for MSME development, the creative industries, and gender equality and women empowerment.“ This is a once-in-a-decade, high-impact opportunity to shape ASEAN’ s economic and social agenda,” said Concepcion.
SM Investments Corp. Vice Chair Tessie Sy-Coson offered that,“ MSMEs must be positioned as a central pillar of ASEAN’ s strategic agenda, closely aligned with initiatives in human capital development and capacity building.” She also emphasized the importance of connectivity and solidarity in building meaningful relationships and sustainable business collaborations in the region.
Other private sector partners, in turn, suggested priority issues to be included in next year’ s agenda, including the Halal market, women and youth sectors, creative industries, the role of franchising, the Digital Economy Framework Agreement, cross-border retail, non-tariff barriers, and the need to emphasize human capital in the region’ s economies.