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Over the course of three days at the World Economic Forum on East Asia， held in Nay Pyi Taw， Myanmar， some 1，000 participants from more than 50 countries debated， among a host of topics， what lies in the future for a robust， networked East Asia. All events and meetings were held in early June at the Myanmar International Convention Center， an impressive 3-year-old， fully equipped complex.
Within the context of East Asia’s import-export markets， Myanmar is poised to become an important player， heavily laden with resources like natural gas， timber and gems—close to 40 percent of total exports make their way across the southeastern border with Thailand.
Myanmar on board
It was in the hallowed chambers of the UN headquarters in New York City at the UN General Assembly General Debate on September 27， 2012 that Myanmar’s President U Thein Sein addressed representatives of 193 states.
“Economic development must not lead to the widening of the rich-poor gap； citizens’rights are to be protected； the natural environment is to be preserved； our workers are to enjoy rights in line with international standards. We are giving careful attention to investments in the extractive sectors like energy to ensure transparency and impartiality.”
He also pinpointed that in terms of economic development， one of the advantages that Myanmar possesses is that it is one of the largest countries in ASEAN， second only to Indonesia in land mass， and remains a bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia. Technological advancements have lagged behind other ASEAN countries in large part due to crippling U.S. sanctions. This in turn has resulted in insufficient employment opportunities for more than 3 million people in the country.
There is “reason to acquire capital and look forward to the inflow of foreign investment . Our country used to be isolated for the last 20 years. We are now part of the global community，” the president said.
In short， Myanmar seems poised to be a cog in elevating this long underestimated region of Asia into the mainstream discussion on the global stage. Although the networked trade of the 10 members of ASEAN and the three countries of China， Japan and South Korea is a far cry from the monolith that is the EU or the strength seen in the North American Free Trade Agreement， the potential remains.
Authoring ASEAN’s attitude
Two men well-versed in debating the expansion of East Asia took the floor during one of the first sessions at the World Economic Forum in Myanmar entitled， Accelerating ASEAN’s Integration. Kishore Mahbubani， Dean of and a professor in the practice of public policy at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore， and Anthony F. Fernandes， Group CEO of AirAsia， debated at length their findings. The professor believes that ASEAN， dating back to its formation in 1967， looks good on paper but the reality of competitive regional economic integration presents a gap that is more than fundamental. Implementation on the ground in the form of reduced tariffs， strengthened customs procedures and the liberalization of investment regimes remain absent.
“The real weak link is small and mediumsized enterprises， while governments haven’t realized this. They need to balance this，”Mahbubani said. He believes that there is currently a lack of political will to enact change. With Myanmar assuming the rotating chair of ASEAN in 2014， both the association and ultimately， its members， will not want to enter 2015 and 2017 empty-handed， the latter， the 50th anniversary of the bloc.
A timetable， or what President of the Philippines Benigno Aquino III at the conference’s final plenary session called a “roadmap，”which is needed for a strengthened economic community， must take shape.
Regional trade has not been the best between ASEAN countries because of the lack of special economic zones in individual countries， preventing them from producing goods and services at a lower cost. Alarmingly， as Fernandes pointed out， the additional absence of a unified visa and passport system and a regional stock market indirectly makes doing business more difficult.
In June 2012， the International Finance Corp. and the World Bank Group did not rank Myanmar among 185 countries in its Doing Business project. Singapore topped the list， while Malaysia and Thailand were the 12th and 18th respectively. Additionally， five ASEAN countries were positioned in the top 40 in the sub-category of “trading across borders.”
One area where regional integration has literally taken off is the industry Fernandes knows best.
“It’s an assorted group of companies from the private industry pushing the authorities to say we are looking for a common aviation policy—they have to facilitate business， not the other way around，” Fernandes said.
Still， the executive sees the wave of nationalism and protectionism dominant in the beliefs of ASEAN countries not as methods of survival but rather self-defeating. What is needed， Mahbubani argues， is strength in reciprocity between the region’s superpowers—China， India and Japan—and ASEAN. Mahbubani said，“ASEAN provides the oxygen for Southeast Asia. It has breathed oxygen into a region to [reach] its current status.” Long-term vision
At a session entitled Vision for East Asia’s Networked Future and broadcast live by Bloomberg Television， the question posed to the distinguished panelists was， “How can East Asia implement its long-term strategy for strong networked trade and ASEAN integration？”
Yorihiko Kojima， Chairman of the Board of the Japan-based Mitsubishi Corp.， stated that there is greater importance for Asia to facilitate trade relationships in the future. He remarked that ASEAN has grown in part because of development among nations， growing competitiveness among companies as well as a strict multi-developmental framework that ensures progress.
Kojima’s colleague in the corporate world， Harish Manwani， CEO of Unilever， Singapore， said， “The purpose of ASEAN coming together as a bloc is regionally leveraged， globally relevant， and locally important.” Later he added，“We do not want a system without an effective economy of scale. A regional supply chain is needed for ASEAN.”
“FDI [foreign direct investment] is largely driven by how effective the supply chain is，” said Tarek Sultan Al Essa， Chairman and Managing Director of the Kuwait-based logistics company Agility. “ASEAN needs to look at soft supply chain problems.” He concluded by pointing out that the pace of change is going to accelerate and in eliminating the possibility of ASEAN being left behind， the bloc must move quickly to reap the benefits of this expected reformation.
Kittiratt Na-Ranong， Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance， countered that trade in ASEAN is occurring at a very high level， 70 percent of the total volume manifested as intra-trade. With the ease of doing business streamlined， medium- and large-scale economic activities will be carried out with more efficiency. Currently， labor costs for companies being proactive in their growth and engaging in various initiatives for expansion are low， but as the cost of living for the 600 million plus individuals within ASEAN increases and economies improve， there will be a gradual shift to highercost industries， as this is the nature of the beast.
John Rice， Vice Chairman of General Electric and Co-chair of the World Economic Forum on East Asia， did his best to sum up the event at the closing plenary session. “There is work to be done in East Asia. It is about balance， balancing the need for speed and understanding that small can become big—this event has created hundreds of ambassadors for Myanmar when people go back to their country.”
（Reporting from Nay Pyi Taw， Myanmar）
Within the context of East Asia’s import-export markets， Myanmar is poised to become an important player， heavily laden with resources like natural gas， timber and gems—close to 40 percent of total exports make their way across the southeastern border with Thailand.
Myanmar on board
It was in the hallowed chambers of the UN headquarters in New York City at the UN General Assembly General Debate on September 27， 2012 that Myanmar’s President U Thein Sein addressed representatives of 193 states.
“Economic development must not lead to the widening of the rich-poor gap； citizens’rights are to be protected； the natural environment is to be preserved； our workers are to enjoy rights in line with international standards. We are giving careful attention to investments in the extractive sectors like energy to ensure transparency and impartiality.”
He also pinpointed that in terms of economic development， one of the advantages that Myanmar possesses is that it is one of the largest countries in ASEAN， second only to Indonesia in land mass， and remains a bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia. Technological advancements have lagged behind other ASEAN countries in large part due to crippling U.S. sanctions. This in turn has resulted in insufficient employment opportunities for more than 3 million people in the country.
There is “reason to acquire capital and look forward to the inflow of foreign investment . Our country used to be isolated for the last 20 years. We are now part of the global community，” the president said.
In short， Myanmar seems poised to be a cog in elevating this long underestimated region of Asia into the mainstream discussion on the global stage. Although the networked trade of the 10 members of ASEAN and the three countries of China， Japan and South Korea is a far cry from the monolith that is the EU or the strength seen in the North American Free Trade Agreement， the potential remains.
Authoring ASEAN’s attitude
Two men well-versed in debating the expansion of East Asia took the floor during one of the first sessions at the World Economic Forum in Myanmar entitled， Accelerating ASEAN’s Integration. Kishore Mahbubani， Dean of and a professor in the practice of public policy at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore， and Anthony F. Fernandes， Group CEO of AirAsia， debated at length their findings. The professor believes that ASEAN， dating back to its formation in 1967， looks good on paper but the reality of competitive regional economic integration presents a gap that is more than fundamental. Implementation on the ground in the form of reduced tariffs， strengthened customs procedures and the liberalization of investment regimes remain absent.
“The real weak link is small and mediumsized enterprises， while governments haven’t realized this. They need to balance this，”Mahbubani said. He believes that there is currently a lack of political will to enact change. With Myanmar assuming the rotating chair of ASEAN in 2014， both the association and ultimately， its members， will not want to enter 2015 and 2017 empty-handed， the latter， the 50th anniversary of the bloc.
A timetable， or what President of the Philippines Benigno Aquino III at the conference’s final plenary session called a “roadmap，”which is needed for a strengthened economic community， must take shape.
Regional trade has not been the best between ASEAN countries because of the lack of special economic zones in individual countries， preventing them from producing goods and services at a lower cost. Alarmingly， as Fernandes pointed out， the additional absence of a unified visa and passport system and a regional stock market indirectly makes doing business more difficult.
In June 2012， the International Finance Corp. and the World Bank Group did not rank Myanmar among 185 countries in its Doing Business project. Singapore topped the list， while Malaysia and Thailand were the 12th and 18th respectively. Additionally， five ASEAN countries were positioned in the top 40 in the sub-category of “trading across borders.”
One area where regional integration has literally taken off is the industry Fernandes knows best.
“It’s an assorted group of companies from the private industry pushing the authorities to say we are looking for a common aviation policy—they have to facilitate business， not the other way around，” Fernandes said.
Still， the executive sees the wave of nationalism and protectionism dominant in the beliefs of ASEAN countries not as methods of survival but rather self-defeating. What is needed， Mahbubani argues， is strength in reciprocity between the region’s superpowers—China， India and Japan—and ASEAN. Mahbubani said，“ASEAN provides the oxygen for Southeast Asia. It has breathed oxygen into a region to [reach] its current status.” Long-term vision
At a session entitled Vision for East Asia’s Networked Future and broadcast live by Bloomberg Television， the question posed to the distinguished panelists was， “How can East Asia implement its long-term strategy for strong networked trade and ASEAN integration？”
Yorihiko Kojima， Chairman of the Board of the Japan-based Mitsubishi Corp.， stated that there is greater importance for Asia to facilitate trade relationships in the future. He remarked that ASEAN has grown in part because of development among nations， growing competitiveness among companies as well as a strict multi-developmental framework that ensures progress.
Kojima’s colleague in the corporate world， Harish Manwani， CEO of Unilever， Singapore， said， “The purpose of ASEAN coming together as a bloc is regionally leveraged， globally relevant， and locally important.” Later he added，“We do not want a system without an effective economy of scale. A regional supply chain is needed for ASEAN.”
“FDI [foreign direct investment] is largely driven by how effective the supply chain is，” said Tarek Sultan Al Essa， Chairman and Managing Director of the Kuwait-based logistics company Agility. “ASEAN needs to look at soft supply chain problems.” He concluded by pointing out that the pace of change is going to accelerate and in eliminating the possibility of ASEAN being left behind， the bloc must move quickly to reap the benefits of this expected reformation.
Kittiratt Na-Ranong， Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance， countered that trade in ASEAN is occurring at a very high level， 70 percent of the total volume manifested as intra-trade. With the ease of doing business streamlined， medium- and large-scale economic activities will be carried out with more efficiency. Currently， labor costs for companies being proactive in their growth and engaging in various initiatives for expansion are low， but as the cost of living for the 600 million plus individuals within ASEAN increases and economies improve， there will be a gradual shift to highercost industries， as this is the nature of the beast.
John Rice， Vice Chairman of General Electric and Co-chair of the World Economic Forum on East Asia， did his best to sum up the event at the closing plenary session. “There is work to be done in East Asia. It is about balance， balancing the need for speed and understanding that small can become big—this event has created hundreds of ambassadors for Myanmar when people go back to their country.”
（Reporting from Nay Pyi Taw， Myanmar）