ASEAN needs to strengthen ties to lure investments
ASEAN needs to strengthen ties to lure investments
Fadli and Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) needs to
strengthen cooperation among members to offer an attractive
business environment for investors, a Singapore minister says.
Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry George Yeo said
the regional free trade area could become unsubstantial as China
and India also entered the global marketplace offering very low
costs of production, unless every member of ASEAN was ready to
combine its markets.
"We have to integrate ASEAN further so that we have a single
economic space of 500 million people," he said.
ASEAN groups Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Yeo said that Southeast Asia would remain competitive in the
manufacturing sector, despite China's rapid growth of industries,
as the region possessed a longer history in advanced
manufacturing and well-developed knowledge clusters.
He said a proposed free trade area between ASEAN and China
should benefit products from Southeast Asia, as it opened greater
access to the giant Chinese market.
However, he said if ASEAN was fragmented into ten separate
economies, each would not be able to play at full strength.
He pointed out a successful model of development cooperation
between Singapore and Indonesia's Riau province.
The flow of investment into Batam and Bintan islands in Riau
province remains healthy despite various uncertainties in
Indonesia.
Last year, the two islands attracted more than US$300 million
worth of investment from more than 570 foreign companies.
Singapore recorded a total investment of $1.7 billion, the
largest among other nations, due to its close proximity to both
Batam and Bintan.
The two islands are 20 kilometer away from Singapore and can
be reached by a 40-minute ferry ride.
Recently, Singapore's Nam Lee Pressed Metal Industry and Cheng
Heng Paper Product opened two factories and invested about $224
million in the two islands.
Yeo said that when the Singapore Economic Development Board
included Batam and Bintan in its business proposals, investors
responded with enthusiasm.
He added that Singapore's bilateral free trade agreement with
the U.S. would greatly contribute to the islands' economy.
Moreover, Yeo said that what has been established in Riau
should be an example for other parts of ASEAN.
"Synergistic cooperation is win-win." he said.