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Businesses overlook South-east Asia at their own peril
Asean is a powerful engine of growth in its own right. To pull out of the region in the face of geopolitical and trade tensions is a big mistake.
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South-east Asia is adapting fast to a new global order - integrating economies, investing in infrastructure and embracing forward-thinking business models, say the writers.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO FILE
Kurt M. Campbell and Alexander C. Feldman
Follow topic:
- Southeast Asia is a dynamic region, not just a geopolitical bystander, with fast-growing economies..
- Diversification in Southeast Asia remains crucial for supply chain resilience.
- Southeast Asia offers opportunities through trade agreements (RCEP, CPTPP), incentives, and a growing digital economy, key for long-term competitiveness.
AI generated
South-east Asia is too often viewed through the lens of great power competition – a region caught between the United States and China. But Asean is not a geopolitical bystander. It is a dynamic and complex community of nations, with fast-growing economies and rising global influence.
In this new era where geopolitical tensions and commerce collide – over technology, trade and access to strategic minerals – businesses cannot afford to overlook a region that is home to 680 million people, twice the population of the European Union (EU), with an economy that is growing four times as fast.
