Members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's Business Advisory Committee met at the West Oahu hotel Saturday and yesterday to draw up pro-business proposals for APEC leaders.

The role of business and the advisory committee will become increasingly important as APEC moves to liberalize and facilitate commerce, said Minoru Murofushi, president and chief executive of Itochu Corp. of Japan, in a statement after the meeting.

Murofushi, co-chair of the APEC business advisory committee, said that the group's deliberations in Hawaii were a prelude to a Manila session in November, when the committee will present a briefing before a meeting of APEC economic leaders.

Another committee co-chair, Dorothy Riddle of Canada, said the committee will recommend action, not just policy changes. "With both government and private sector working together, we believe we can achieve a regional business community," said Riddle, chief executive of Services-Growth Consultants.

A number of proposals to free up foreign investment among the countries will be proposed, said Robert E. Denham, chairman and chief executive of Salomon Inc. and co-chair of the group's finance and investment committee. "We will offer these measures for voluntary adoption and rely on market forces to provide significant incentives for adoption of progressively more liberal investment regimes," Denham said.

The meeting on Oahu was the committee's second. Its inaugural meeting was in Manila in June. Taking part were representatives from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea.