Speaking at the conference “Vision 2024: Age of ASEAN” co-organised by Malaysia’s Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), the ASEAN Business Advisory Council and the Boston Consulting Group on August 6, Singh said the forecast was further reinforced by regional trade which rose to 3.5 trillion USD in 2023 from 2.3 trillion USD in 2015 which helped raise per capita income significantly.

He asserted that this reflects ASEAN’s persistent commitment to becoming an open economic region for global trade and investment.

According to Singh, ASEAN is one of the very few regions in the world where the bloc’s trade is almost as large as its GDP. The biggest component of trade is not its trade with China or the US, but intra-Asian trade, which is somewhere close to 800 trillion USD.

He also noted that ASEAN's trade with the rest of the world has also grown, which is the uniqueness of economies within the ASEAN bloc, unlike the European Union or the North American Free Trade Area, where most member countries trade with each other and not with the rest of the world.

Singh said in the global south, ASEAN is also the largest recipient of foreign direct investments totaling about 230 billion USD currently. It is forecasted that the global supply chain of companies with low carbon footprints and high-value activities is more likely to be in ASEAN countries in the coming years. Some of the sectors to see significant growth include semiconductors, agriculture, data equipment as well as minerals and the metals industries.

Besides, an attractiveness of ASEAN is technology transformation, with frontier technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence and internet of things to create another 8 trillion USD. However, experts said ASEAN should work hard to reduce the cost of technology across their economies and ensure regional economies have access to technological devices and solutions.

Despite these economic positives, Satvinder expressed concern that the region’s young workers are expected to decrease while ageing workers are estimated to increase marginally, posing the risk of skills mismatch.

Across member countries, automation will also affect different types of occupations. Therefore, retraining young workers in technology and innovation through technology management hubs, online education platforms for science, technology and innovation and enhancing skills for the elderly will promote productivity and help strategic industries to grow.

New York ASEAN Family Day strengthens bloc’s solidarity

The ASEAN Family Day was recently held in New York with the participation of the staff members of the permanent missions of 10 ASEAN member states and Timor Leste, an observer at the bloc, to the United Nations and their families.

Vietnam remains Southeast Asia's bright star: ASEAN specialist

Vietnam remains a “bright star” of the Southeast Asian region despite power shortages and a weakened realty market last year, according to Kai Wei Ang, an ASEAN economist at the BofA Securities Inc., which is previously the Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Vietnam’s traditional food favoured by visitors to ASEAN fair

Dozens of traditional foods of Vietnam, such as 'nem' (spring rolls), 'banh mi' (Vietnamese sandwich), 'banh cuon' (steamed roll rice pancakes), 'bun tron' (rice vermicelli salad with meat), iced milk coffee and lemon tea, were introduced, making a good impression on Swedish people and visitors.

Vietnam among six ASEAN countries with good economic growth: Maybank

The gross domestic product (GDP) growth of six ASEAN countries - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - will recover to 4.5% and 4.7% in 2024 and 2025, respectively, from 4% in 2023, according to Maybank Research Pte Ltd forecast.

13th ASEAN School Games wraps up in Da Nang

Vietnam topped the tally with 44 gold medals at the 10-day 13th ASEAN School Games (ASG), which wrapped up in the central city of Da Nang on July 7.

Meeting affirms ASEAN countries’ commitment to sustainable forest management

The 19th meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Forest Management (AWG-FM) opened in Da Nang City on June 6.

Source: VNA