With most of the high-priority measures in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) blueprint already adopted, policymakers and businesses need to work closely on the remaining challenges to achieve benefits of full economic integration beyond 2015.
Such is provided in the report from Ernst & Young (EY), titled Trade Secrets: ASEAN Economic Community.
The report recommends five priorities, namely: focus on effective implementation, eradication of infrastructure bottlenecks, improvement of labor mobility for professionals, inclusion of taxes in the AEC agenda, and push for financial integration.
The journey to full regional economic integration is complex and will require close collaboration between the public and private sectors, the report says.
The availability of regional funding support is critical, and greater private sector investment and expertise will be key factors, according to the report.
The report devises ways to achieve infrastructure delivery success in the region, such as establishing appropriate PPP regulations and frameworks and dedicated PPP units; simplifying and centralizing, where appropriate, government decision-making processes; and building the public sector’s capacity to deliver and manage complex infrastructure projects.
The AEC will need to promote a mechanism for financial sector development that is orderly, transparent and fair to all players across the private and public sectors, so as to increase trust and ensure smoother collaboration and implementation process,” said Liew Nam Soon, EY’s ASEAN Financial Services Advisory Leader.-
