ASEAN: An Overview

Southeast Asia
Land Area
Combined GDP
Origins

ASEAN Objectives

ASEAN Free Trade Area

(AFTA)

Common Effective
Preferential Tariff
(CEPT)

Country
Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
Indonesia
Laos
Malaysia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam

Population
407,000
14,572,000
245,731,000
6,581,000
30,476,000
62,342,000
100,617,630
5,437,000
67,357,000
89,702,000

South of China
East of India
4.5 million square kilometers
Half of the USA
$1.5 Trillion
Fourth Largest
Established in Bangkok
Head office in Jakarta
Founding Members
o Indonesia
o Malaysia
o Philippines
o Singapore
o Thailand
Members that followed
o Brunei Darussalam
o Vietnam
o Laos
o Myanmar
o Cambodia
Accelerate economic growth in the region
Promote regional peace and stability
Cooperate in economic, social, political, cultural, technical, scientific
and administrative fields
Economic Integration
Increase ASEAN's competitive edge as a production base geared for
the world market.
reduce intra-regional tariffs and remove non-tariff barriers
lower CEPT rates make the countrys products cheaper in these

Growth %
1.75
1.59
1.45
1.9
2.47
1.9
1.9
2.35
0.76
1.04

GDP ($)
16,628 billion
14,241 billion
878,198 billion
9,214 billion
303,527 billion
53,140 billion
250,436 billion
276,520 billion
365,564 billion
138,071 billion

GDP per Capita ($)

41,703
934
3,592
1,446
10,304
835
2,614
51,162
5,678
1,528

Country
Indonesia
Philippines
Vietnam
Thailand
Myanmar
Malaysia
Cambodia
Laos
Singapore
Brunei Darussalam

Population
245,731,000
100,617,630
89,702,000
67,357,000
62,342,000
30,476,000
14,572,000
6,581,000
5,437,000
407,000

Country
Malaysia
Singapore
Laos
Philippines
Myanmar
Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
Indonesia
Vietnam
Thailand

Growth %
2.47
2.35
1.9
1.9
1.9
1.75
1.59
1.45
1.04
0.76

Country
Indonesia
Thailand
Malaysia
Singapore
Philippines
Vietnam
Myanmar
Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
Laos

GDP ($)
878,198 billion
365,564 billion
303,527 billion
276,520 billion
250,436 billion
138,071 billion
53,140 billion
16,628 billion
14,241 billion
9,214 billion

Country
Singapore
Brunei Darussalam
Malaysia
Thailand
Indonesia
Philippines
Vietnam
Laos
Cambodia
Myanmar

GDP per Capita ($)

51,162
41,703
10,304
5,678
3,592
2,614
1,528
1,446
934
835

AEC presents golden

growth opportunities
Notes

ASEAN marches to a
slow beat toward
becoming a powerhouse
Notes

http://business.inquirer.net/205875/aec-presents-golden-growth-opportunities

The opportunities are still in the manufacturing sector, particularly for

food products, as well as services and retailing.
Ceferino S. Rodolfo, managing head of the Board of Investments
(BOI), said companies engaged in the manufacture of processed food
products, services, and retail are among those that are likely to benefit
significantly from an economically integrated region.
Non-tariff barriers come in many forms such as country accreditations
and standards requirements, which largely impact the micro, small and
medium sized enterprises as these companies often lack the resources
needed to meet the stringent procedures imposed by other countries.
These barriers are being hurdled through the signing of mutual
recognition agreements and the harmonization of standards across the
region.
http://business.inquirer.net/205871/asean-marches-to-a-slow-beat-towardbecoming-a-powerhouse

Financial integration will involve three main parts: Financial services

liberation to allow banks to operate anywhere in ASEAN, capital
account liberalization to allow money to flow across borders
unhindered, and capital market development.
The goal is the better use of the regions resources. Money saved up or
available for investments in one of the 10 countries should be able to
fund projects or new businesses in other parts of the region.
Official data showed money saved by Southeast Asians was equivalent
of 31% of GDP, which was 11 percentage points higher on average
than the rest of the world.

the Philippines needs to play catch-up in terms of deepening its

markets. The country has fewer than 300 listed firms, less than half the
average of over 600 among Southeast Asias five largest economies.
The volume of government securities trading among the so-called
ASEAN-5 is also 50 percent larger than in the Philippines
But the AEC falls short when it comes to the bigger challenge of
reducing non-tariff barriers and improving the regions dreadful
infrastructure, which makes trading between countries much harder,
think tank Capital Economics said.
The firm said ASEAN, with its tradition of noninterference into the
affairs of member countries, the absence of penalties for
noncompliance, and its lack of a powerful central bureaucracy, was illequipped to tackle these obstacles.
Tetangco said a payments and settlements system that is holistic and
efficientfacilitating both small and large transactionswould be
required as the main backbone of the regions financial markets. This
must be supported by the necessary financial market infrastructures run
under uncompromising standards of good governance and risk
management.