Improve Intra-Regional Flows To Offset Global Trade Slowdown - HSBC

KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 (Bernama) -- ASEAN economies can partly offset any trade downturns if the much-discussed supply chain diversion to Southeast Asia from China, the United States and Korea materialises, said HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd (HSBC). The bank said a recent survey of companies around the world showed that tariffs open up opportunities for ASEAN markets, including Malaysia, in areas like electronics and textiles, among others. It said the threat of macro-economic headwinds dragging global growth should be the impetus ASEAN needs to push its reform agenda harder in 2019. Chief executive officer Stuart Milne said ASEAN remains as one of the most optimistic and open regions in the world. “This year, the region has the opportunity to further distinguish itself by continuing to drive reform and seek increased openness, and this will help the region both capitalise and shield itself from global events that are likely to play out over the coming years,” he said in a statement Friday. HSBC said increasing the ease for goods and services to flow across ASEAN would make the transition more widespread. “More needs to be done to smooth the flow of goods and services across ASEAN. “This includes rolling out the ASEAN Single Window - which digitises intra-ASEAN trade documents to all ASEAN countries, standardising the cost and time of customs clearance across Southeast Asia and enabling the freer movement of professionals across the region,” it said. The bank added that there was a need to improve digital connectivity and investment in ASEAN’s digital space to support the region’s growing consumer base. Meanwhile, HSBC said even though attracting more inbound foreign direct investments (FDIs) into Southeast Asia has improved post-global financial crisis, more FDIs need to be directed to countries like Thailand, Indonesia or Philippines where supply chains are expected to grow in future. As for Malaysia, it said the country has increasingly turned its focus towards environmentally friendly Islamic finance, with new product offerings looking to raise capital for sustainable development projects. The bank added that ASEAN should focus on several areas to drive a more sustainable region, including the development of a regional incentive framework, and converting the ASEAN Smart Cities Network from a concept programme into specific projects across the 26 pilot cities. -- BERNAMA