MANILA, Philippines — In less than a month, the Philippines will welcome the leading figures of the global franchising community as they converge in Manila for the much-awaited Franchise Asia 2011, Asia’s biggest and most important four-in-one event happening on September 19-25 at the SMX Convention Center.

Organized by the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) and co-presented by PLDT SME Nation and PLDT Alpha Enterprise, Franchise Asia 2011 is headlined by the twin meetings of the Asia Pacific Franchise Confederation (APFC) and the World Franchise Council (WFC) which will be attended by heads of national franchise associations from 43 member countries of the two world umbrella organizations.

Franchise Asia 2011 Chair Bing Sibal-Limjoco said that the honor of staging this prestigious international event was given to the Philippines after PFA won the bid to host the high-level meetings of the APFC and WFC in Malaysia in 2008.

“This is truly a proud moment for the country, as Franchise Asia 2011 brings an excellent opportunity to market the Philippines as an investment and tourism destination,” Limjoco said. “In fact, as early as now, we are seeing the fruits of our two-year collective effort as we are able to confirm the attendance of more than 100 international delegates who will be looking for investment opportunities in the country,” Limjoco added.

Bannered under the theme “Asia to the World — The World to Asia,” the event’s primary goal is to provide the platform to showcase to the world the best Philippine franchise brands and concepts, as well as provide a gateway for international brands to enter the 650 million ASEAN market through the Philippines, thus affirming the country’s position as the “Franchise Hub of Asia.”

WFC Chairman Samie Lim underscored the importance of the Manila-gathering of the international franchise community. “These meetings will further international cooperation and open more bridges of opportunities among global franchise players thus strengthening the joint statement of the WFC member-countries that franchising would continue to fuel the economic activity of developed and newly-industrialized countries.”

Lim also said that Franchise Asia 2011’s higher mission is to highlight and, in turn, replicate, the Philippine franchising sector’s experience in using franchising as an effective contributor in reviving the economy through enterprise-creation and job-generation.

“Again we will go back to the paradox that ‘franchising performs even better in challenging times.’ Through Franchise Asia 2011, we hope to proclaim the good news that franchising is an important building block to move the global economy forward,” Lim said.

Aside from the APFC/WFC meetings, Franchise Asia 2011 will also feature the International Franchise Conference (September 22-23), the International Franchise Expo (September 23-25), and Educational Sessions and Seminars (September 24-25).

The two-day Conference, which will feature high-caliber speakers and experts with presentations on franchising updates and opportunities across the globe, offers four components thus serving as the ideal learning venue to the participants.

These are: Case presentations of industry leaders on “The Making of Successful Brands” to be led by Tony Tan Caktiong (Jollibee), Jeff Welch (Krispy Kreme), Chris Tanco (7-Eleven), and Edgar “Injap” Sia II (Mang Inasal); business leaders’ fora on the “Challenges and Opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region, developed economies, and the emerging and growth regions; panel of experts on issues affecting the growth and development of the franchising sector such as “Sustaining the Triple Bottomline” and “The Use of Social Media for enhanced Profitability;” and, concurrent breakout sessions, which will present a variety of relevant and stimulating franchise tracks for franchisors, franchisees and entrepreneurs.