Full coverage: Chinese Premier Visits Laos, Attends East Asia Summit

VIENTIANE, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) is being held here on Monday to explore opportunities in elevating their businesses at the regional level.

The three-day summit, convened one day ahead of the 28th and 29th ASEAN summits and its related meetings with participation of more than 400 companies across the region, will also provide attendees with the ability to plug into the 10-member bloc's extensive network of partnership.

With "Operationalizing AEC (ASEAN Economic Community) -- Turing Vision into Reality" as its theme, the key focus of this summit is to explore new prospects as the AEC, which was established at the end of last year, is being implemented with a strategic outlook to AEC 2025.

Complementing regional and global free trade agreements, fast tracking business development and integration in energy, infrastructure, the role of youth and women in business, trade and transport facilitation, among others, will also be discussed at the summit.

As part of ABIS 2016, the AEC symposium will be held during the summit.

ABIS 2016 will also host the ASEAN business award, which recognizes ASEAN companies with outstanding performance in the sectors of growth, employment, innovation and corporate social responsibility.

Chairman of ASEAN-Business Advisory Council (BAC) Oudet Souvannavong said ABIS brings into sharp focus the opportunities, requirements and questions facing the private sector, and explore the myriad of possibilities brought forth by the onset of the AEC, according a press release.

ASEAN is a regional bloc comprising 10 Southeast Asian nations aimed to promote intergovernmental cooperation and facilitate economic integration among its members.

It was originally established in August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The group has now expanded to include Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

ASEAN has a combined population of approximately 625 million people, accounting for 8.8 percent of the world's total. In 2015, the bloc's combined nominal GDP had grown to more than 2.8 trillion U.S. dollars.

Laos holds the rotating ASEAN chairmanship this year.