More than 500 people from around the country are expected to descend on the Business School campus this weekend for the school's largest student club-sponsored event this year.

The 3rd April 1996 Asia-Pacific Business Conference, sponsored by the HBS Asia Business Club, will run Friday afternoon and Saturday. The conference will kick off 1 p.m. Friday with a keynote address by Dato Seri Rafidah Aziz, Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry.

The conference features speakers from business and government, panel discussions centered around specific regions of Asia, a banquet and a cocktail party. Even organizers say the banquet and cocktails are new features this year.

"This year we're making it more interactive, through the banquet and cocktails, to give a chance for networking with business leaders world-wide," said Toru Morisawa, vice chair for the conference.

The list of speakers includes HBS Dean Kim Clark, Harvard professor Ezra Vogel, Sony Executive Vice President Kumitake Ando and Tad Beszak, chair of JP Morgan Hong Kong.

"This year's speakers are probably the best so far," said Alexander Lang '96 of Cabot House, one of the few undergraduate members of the Asia Business Club.

The conference is open to everyone, but for a price. For undergraduates, a ticket to the conference is $20, or $65 for the conference and the banquet, which will be held at the Boston Sheraton Hotel.

According to conference organiz- ers, about 500 people have pre-registered, around the same number as past years.

The conference was originally created in 1993 by two Business School students, C.K. Tan and Jiwahn Park, who also founded the Asia Business Club