Investment is the foundation of economic activity and a necessary prerequisite to innovation, growth of manufacturing and trade.

In 1993, APEC leaders welcomed the report presented by the APEC Eminent Persons Group, which recommended for APEC to “adopt an Asia-Pacific Investment Code to reduce the uncertainties and transaction costs of trade and investment in the region.” Immediately after, leaders instructed the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) to develop a set of nonbinding investment principles.

In 1994, the CTI established the Investment Experts’ Group (IEG) to fulfill this task. . The IEG developed the Non-Binding Investment Principles, which were endorsed by APEC leaders in Jakarta in 1994. As a CTI sub-forum, the IEG has worked to enhance liberalization and facilitation of investment, as well as strengthen member economies’ capacity building through economic and technical cooperation.

Bearing in mind the goal of economic development and prosperity of people across the APEC region, the objectives of the IEG are as follows:

• To undertake work related to investment and report its outcomes to the CTI
• To address issues related to investment and to enhance the liberalization and facilitation of investment in the APEC region
• To enhance capacity building in the area of investment through economic and technical cooperation among member economies in the APEC region
• To support investment promotion activities of member economies to facilitate investment flows in the region

Based on these objectives, the IEG reaffirms two principal pillars of its work as follows:

1. International investment regime—principles and practices. This pillar looks at various investment issues and challenges from the perspective of international instruments such as International Investment Agreements (IIAs).
2. Investment promotion, facilitation and retention, such as continuing the work on the Investment Facilitation Action Plan (IFAP), Investment Policy Dialogue (IPD), Investment Promotion Agency (IPA), best practice discussions and other crosscutting issues such as global value chains (GVC), public-private partnerships (PPP) and infrastructure.

APEC Non-Binding Investment Principles (NBIPs)

The APEC Non-Binding Investment Principles (NBIPs) demonstrate APEC’s commitment to promoting investment and addressing challenges posed by a rapidly evolving business environment. The NBIPs, originally endorsed in 1994, were successfully revised in 2011.

Investment Facilitation Action Plan

In 2008, APEC Ministers endorsed an Investment Facilitation Action Plan (IFAP) that is aimed at strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of economic growth of APEC’s member economies and making further progress towards achievement of the Bogor Goals. The IFAP includes a comprehensive prescription of actions that can be taken across a range of policy areas and has served as a valuable reference tool for the improvement of the APEC investment climate. The IEG has reviewed the action plan’s implementation progress and published five reports in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2023.

In 2025, the IFAP was upgraded to align with APEC’s current policy objectives under the Putrajaya Vision 2040 and the Aotearoa Plan of Action. The updated framework emphasises investment facilitation measures that incorporate digitalisation, inclusivity, and sustainability, while reinforcing transparency and reducing barriers to investment to promote the flow of quality investment. According to the Work Programme for Implementing the upgraded IFAP, the IEG will oversee its implementation.

Last page update: April 2026

Current Activities

The Latest IEG Meeting

The Investment Experts’ Group (IEG) held its First Plenary Meeting for 2026 (IEG1) on 3–4 February 2026 in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. The meeting was attended in person by delegates from 18 APEC member economies, as well as representatives from international organizations including the World Economic Forum (WEF) and UNCTAD, with additional contributions from UNCITRAL and the WTO via pre recorded video messages.

Among other matters, IEG members discussed the following:

1. IEG Workshop on Impact Investing
An APEC‑funded IEG Workshop, "Workshop on sharing of best practices and approaches to impact investing and the role of IPAs within the APEC region", implemented by Papua New Guinea, was held prior to the Plenary Meeting. The workshop provided fresh perspectives on impact investment and the role of Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs), strengthening synergies with the IEG meeting.

2. Implementation of the Updated Investment Facilitation Action Plan (IFAP)
Economies shared inputs on their implementation of the Updated IFAP. Japan and the Policy Support Unit (PSU) reported progress under the IFAP Work Program, supported by additional submissions from several economies. These discussions contributed to advancing collective understanding of implementation practices and identifying areas for continued capacity building.

3. Domestic Investment Policy Design and Implementation
Members exchanged views on quality, sustainable, and responsible investment policies, with updates from several economies. International organizations provided insights on digital transformation and emerging investment policy trends, while economies also shared experiences related to investment screening mechanisms and regulatory approaches.

4. Investment Facilitation, Promotion, and Institutional Delivery
IEG members discussed best practices in investment facilitation and promotion, drawing on experiences shared by economies and the preceding workshop.

5. International Investment Policy and Reform
Economies and international organizations reported on developments in international investment policy reform, including investment treaty modernization, investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) reform, and dispute prevention mechanisms. These updates helped inform members’ ongoing policy deliberations and engagement in relevant international processes.