EU-ASEAN Business Council Launches Second Position Paper on The Digital Economy in ASEAN: Calls for Comprehensive Regional Approach to Ensure Maximum Benefits of Digital Economy Are Achieved

1.     EU-ASEAN Trade
and Investment Relationship

The commercial,
trade and investment relationship between the European Union and ASEAN is
strong and growing. The EU is the largest economy in the world and is ASEAN’s
largest source of foreign direct investment. The EU is also ASEAN’s second
largest trading partner, after China.

2.     About the
EU-ASEAN Business Council

The EU-ASEAN Business Council (EU-ABC) is the recognised voice for
European business within the ASEAN region. It is recognised both by the
European Commission and the ASEAN Secretariat, recently being accredited as an
Entity associated with ASEAN under Annex 2 of the ASEAN Charter. Independent of
both bodies, the Council has been established to help promote the interests of
European businesses operating within ASEAN and to advocate for changes in
policies and regulations which would help promote trade and investment between
Europe and the ASEAN region.

As such, the Council works on a sectorial and cross-industry basis
to help improve the investment and trading conditions for European Businesses
in the ASEAN region by sharing information and ideas with policy and decision
makers and amongst its members and regional players within the ASEAN region.

The EU-ABC’s
membership consists of large European Multi-National Corporations and the nine
European Chambers of Commerce from around Southeast Asia, representing a
diverse range of European industries cutting across almost every commercial
sphere from car manufacturing through to financial services and including FMCG
and high-end electronics and communications. Our members share a common aim to
enhance trade, commerce and investment between Europe and ASEAN.

3.    
Executive Summary
of the Digital Economy Paper:

This paper makes recommendations
in several policy areas: Digital Infrastructure, Data Governance,
E-Commerce and the Movement of Goods and Services, Digital Payments, Payment
and Settlement Systems, Digital Taxation, and Human Capital Development. The
recommendations are aimed at creating and growing a
strong digital economy in the ASEAN region. 

ASEAN is a
region of huge potential and opportunity. The rates of development are
extraordinary. The political leadership of the region are right to point out
the very high GDP growth rates. The young, increasingly tech-savvy population, the high rates
of urbanisation, the diversity of Southeast Asia, and the increasing numbers of
middle-class people with more disposable income, all point to a bright future
for the region. 

There is
no doubt that the digital economy has the power to add significantly to
economic growth and development in Southeast Asia.  

ASEAN’s
own research has stated that “disruptive technologies (particularly mobile
internet, big data, cloud technology, the Internet of Things, the automation of
knowledge work and the social, mobile, analytics and the cloud) could unleash
some US$220 billion to US$625 billion in annual economic impact in ASEAN by
2030”^[1].
Yet, this fast-paced potential growth poses both an opportunity and a challenge
for governments in Southeast Asia.

There are
several areas where further regional development and collaboration is needed if
ASEAN is to get the greatest possible benefit out of the digital economy.
Creating an eco-system to encourage businesses to develop digital platforms to
enable them to reach new markets and consumers, exchange and interpret
effectively data, make and receive payments in a speedy and low-cost manner,
while meeting the increasing demands and expectations of end consumers, is of
vital importance.

In
addition to ensuring that the right physical infrastructure is in place,
governments will need to ensure that the right policies and regulatory regimes
are developed to encourage the exchange of data, the movement of goods and
services that are sold via digital platforms and innovation in new digital
products and services.

Finally, it is essential that the
right skill sets are developed in ASEAN to support the further development of
the Digital Economy: this will involve governments in the region adapting
existing education programmes to improve and encourage the teaching of ICT
related skills.

Member companies from the EU-ASEAN
Business Council stand ready to collaborate and partner on the recommendations
outlined in this paper.  

To
download the position paper, please go to https://www.eu-asean.eu/publications.