KUALA LUMPUR: The global decoupling presents a major disruption but also offers a significant opportunity for ASEAN, positioning it as a key player in a fragmented global economy.
ASEAN Business Advisory Council (BAC) Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Nazir Razak expressed his optimism that ASEAN, now becoming more realistic, will achieve its objectives, especially in achieving its targets and goals.
"We must be ambitious and set the right priorities with specific deliverables. What we want to deliver must create value.
"We must get proper partnership engagement between the government, the private sector and the ASEAN Secretariat, working as a cohesive team," he said during a panel session titled 'Reinforcing Regional Economic Integration for a Resilient ASEAN' at the ASEAN Economic Opinion Leaders Conference: Outlook for 2025 here, today.
Decoupling refers to the process of reducing interdependence between two nations or groups of nations. A prime example is the ongoing efforts by the United States (US) and China to decouple their economies, particularly in sensitive sectors.
In addition, Nazir said BAC Malaysia has outlined 12 initiatives this year aimed at enhancing integration among ASEAN members.
One such initiative is putting ideas for an ASEAN prospectus, which would allow companies seeking listings on the stock exchange to choose between a Malaysian prospectus to raise funds from investors in Malaysia, or an ASEAN prospectus to raise capital across ASEAN countries.
"This initiative would bring our markets closer together, and I believe it could be very productive,” he shared.
"Another idea is the notion of an ASEAN business entity, a more complex, more contentious, but I think it could be the single-biggest move forward in ASEAN business."
Nazir explained that ASEAN economies need to achieve economies of scale for their businesses to compete with global giants such as China. The path forward, he said, is through greater collaboration and integration, such as by creating a category of ASEAN business entities.
By qualifying as an ASEAN business entity, companies could benefit from the free movement of people and business operations across ASEAN, he said.
"We are pushing for this idea, but it is essential that governments and the ASEAN Secretariat align with these initiatives," he said. - Bernama
