Phnom Penh, 5 April 2012 | The ASEAN region holds good prospects for
attracting investments, and a significant share of businesses consider the
investment attractiveness of ASEAN as a whole when planning their investments
in ASEAN countries.
In addition, businesses attach relatively high importance to ASEAN’s
implementation of measures to achieve an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015
but are relatively less satisfied with the grouping’s effectiveness in
implementation. These are key findings from the 2011-12 ASEAN-BAC
(ASEAN-Business Advisory Council) Survey on ASEAN Competitiveness.
The Survey collated 405 usable responses across various firm size categories,
age and ownership profiles, and industries from all ten ASEAN Member States.
The Survey was conducted by ASEAN-BAC in collaboration with Dr. Marn-Heong
Wong, Assistant Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY
School), National University of Singapore. The 2011-12 Survey followed the
success of the inaugural 2010 Survey, which results were reported by ASEAN-BAC
to ASEAN Leaders and ASEAN Economic Ministers. The 2011-12 Survey Report,
prepared by Marn-Heong Wong and Andre Wirjo of the LKY School, is released
today.
The Survey found that businesses continue to view the ASEAN region’s
competitiveness for investments favorably. Eighty eight percent of businesses
planned to invest or increase investments in at least one ASEAN country over a
three-year horizon (2011/12-2013/14) (Figure 1).
The top investment destination was Indonesia, followed by Vietnam,
Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. Of all respondents, 36.5 percent indicated
that ASEAN countries offer the best prospects worldwide for their
organizations’ offshore direct investments over the next three years. ASEAN’s
attractiveness was also rated higher than China’s both as a market for goods
and services and as a production location.
Two-fifths of businesses considered the investment attractiveness of
ASEAN as a whole when planning their investments in ASEAN countries over the
next three years (Figure 2).
“This finding might point to a rising consciousness among businesses of
ASEAN’s initiatives to create an AEC and of the opportunities that a more
integrated ASEAN might bring, as ASEAN member governments implemented more
measures under the AEC Blueprint and stepped up their outreach efforts to
different extents,” noted the authors of the Survey Report.
It was observed that some two-thirds of respondents whose organizations
considered the overall investment attractiveness of ASEAN had at least general
knowledge of ASEAN policy initiatives related to trade and investment, compared
with around half of the respondents whose organizations made their investment decisions
based on the attractiveness of individual ASEAN country.
Implementation of the AEC Blueprint across 14 policy areas was rated by
businesses (on a scale of 1 to 5) to be of relatively high importance to
enhancing trade and investments in ASEAN (Figure 3).
Businesses expressed below-average to above-average satisfaction level
with ASEAN’s implementation of measures across the areas, with those related to
increasing foreign equity participation in services sectors, consultation with
businesses, the development and implementation of mutual recognition of
professional qualifications, development or enhancement of national competition
policies, and dissemination of information being identified as among the least
satisfactory.
The gap between importance and satisfaction level was widest in the
areas of investment protection, simplification of customs procedures, and
enhancing the transparency of non-tariff barriers.
To underscore the crucial role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
in furthering regional economic development and integration, the 2011-12 Survey
also sought businesses’ views on the importance and effectiveness of government
initiatives to promote SME development and participation in trade and
investment activities in ASEAN. Financing was rated by businesses to be by far
the most important policy area, followed by the promotion of SME innovations
and creativity.
On satisfaction level with implementation, the areas that businesses
across a number of ASEAN countries were least satisfied with included platforms
to promote networking among SMEs in ASEAN, business missions to other ASEAN
countries, information on opportunities from ASEAN and ASEAN-plus FTAs (Free
Trade Agreements) and FTA-related documents, and information on SME Service
Centres, non-bank funding availability, and available technology for SMEs in
ASEAN.
Arising from these findings, ASEAN-BAC has put forth some policy
recommendations to ASEAN. A measure of ASEAN’s success in forging closer
economic integration will lie in a rise in the number of businesses that would
plan their investments in ASEAN countries by adopting an ASEAN-wide
perspective.
To this end, ASEAN needs to not only ensure the continuous effective
implementation of measures towards an AEC but also raise awareness among
businesses of the measures being undertaken so that they can better exploit the
opportunities that arise.
ASEAN-BAC urges ASEAN to strengthen in particular its implementation in
areas of the AEC Blueprint that businesses found to among the least
satisfactory or where the gaps between importance and satisfaction level were
the widest.
In the area of promoting SME development and internationalization,
ASEAN-BAC suggests that ASEAN, especially the ASEAN SME Working Group, could
reference the views of businesses from the 2011-12 Survey in their
prioritisation and implementation of work plans, such as stepping on areas
related to the promotion of networking and information dissemination.
ASEAN News Desk
Note: So sorry for the choice of the map which is very comprehensive but not updated; Myanmar has a NEW FLAG !
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