MORE European companies expect to boost their business engagements with Asean in the next five years, but have growing concerns over non-tariff barriers in South-east Asia, a survey found.
Of the firms surveyed, 73 per cent expect their profits in Asean to rise this year, up marginally from 72 per cent in the previous survey. Slightly more than half of respondents believe Asean is the region with the best economic opportunities, while China was in second place.However, only 3 per cent of respondents feel that Asean Economic Integration is progressing at a fast enough pace, down from 11 per cent in 2018.
He added:"Unless Asean moves faster on its integration efforts, especially removal of non-tariff barriers and harmonisation of standards, it risks being seen as just a 'sum of the parts' of the 10 countries and not capturing the synergies and greater economic and development benefits that an integrated community can bring."
Executive director of the EU-Asean Business Council, Chris Humphrey, said:"Asean and its constituents need to pick up the pace to meet the AEC Blueprint 2025 goals. European businesses are now adjusting their business strategy according to local environments, rather than waiting for substantial progress in regional economic integration."
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Source: BusinessTimes - 🏆 15. / 51 Read more »
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