Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Singapore (VNA) – Singapore, as the rotary chairman of the Associationof Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), plans to speed up ASEAN’s economic recoveryfrom advanced technologies to innovate and make the region more competitive.
Tony Cripps, Chief Executive Officer of the HSBC Singapore, said that the planaims to create an environment that facilitates freer trade and regionalinterdependence as well as establishes a network of smart cities.
This will power the region’s digital economy, improve trade circulation, andencourage investment which result in a rapid development of digital consumptionmarket and its related services.
Southeast Asia is the world’s fastest growing Internet region. Nearly fourmillion new users will go online every month in the next five years. Accordingto a Google/Temasek study, totalinternet users in the region will reach 480 million by 2020 and there are over700 million mobile internet subscribers in the region.
However, these consumers only spend 30 billion USD on online shopping. Spendingcan rise six and a half times or 500 percent to 200 billion USD by 2025, buoyedby the consumption of electronics, clothing, household goods and groceries andtravel within the region.
The HSBC CEO believed that ASEAN economies stand to benefit from the potentialof this flourishing digital economy.
Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan painted a vision of a singledigital market that would have norms to guard “cybersecurity and yet enablecross-border transactions at very much lower transaction rates”. A singleinteroperable payment system presents a huge opportunity to enhanceintra-regional trade and business activity. Once operational, an integratedASEAN e-payment system would allow a Singaporean firm to pay its Indonesiansupplier in rupiah by making a cross-border payment instantly.
Removing cost and logistic barriers to international payment is a significantmove to unlock ASEAN’s growth potential. If standards such as ISO 20022 areadopted to support the network, the ASEAN Economic Committee will be globallyconnected, facilitating the flow of trade and foreign direct investment withthe rest of the world.
Greater benefits will be attained if regional integration is paired with theapplication of new technologies like Industry 4.0 or similar.
Tony Cripps, Chief Executive Officer of the HSBC Singapore, said that the planaims to create an environment that facilitates freer trade and regionalinterdependence as well as establishes a network of smart cities.
This will power the region’s digital economy, improve trade circulation, andencourage investment which result in a rapid development of digital consumptionmarket and its related services.
Southeast Asia is the world’s fastest growing Internet region. Nearly fourmillion new users will go online every month in the next five years. Accordingto a Google/Temasek study, totalinternet users in the region will reach 480 million by 2020 and there are over700 million mobile internet subscribers in the region.
However, these consumers only spend 30 billion USD on online shopping. Spendingcan rise six and a half times or 500 percent to 200 billion USD by 2025, buoyedby the consumption of electronics, clothing, household goods and groceries andtravel within the region.
The HSBC CEO believed that ASEAN economies stand to benefit from the potentialof this flourishing digital economy.
Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan painted a vision of a singledigital market that would have norms to guard “cybersecurity and yet enablecross-border transactions at very much lower transaction rates”. A singleinteroperable payment system presents a huge opportunity to enhanceintra-regional trade and business activity. Once operational, an integratedASEAN e-payment system would allow a Singaporean firm to pay its Indonesiansupplier in rupiah by making a cross-border payment instantly.
Removing cost and logistic barriers to international payment is a significantmove to unlock ASEAN’s growth potential. If standards such as ISO 20022 areadopted to support the network, the ASEAN Economic Committee will be globallyconnected, facilitating the flow of trade and foreign direct investment withthe rest of the world.
Greater benefits will be attained if regional integration is paired with theapplication of new technologies like Industry 4.0 or similar.
Singapore is recommending the development of a smart city network in the bloc. ASEANshould bolster ties with foreign partners, including China, the EU, India andBritain via economic cooperation agreement such as the Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
ASEAN’s young population and middle class are driving the growth of the digitaleconomy. Irrational investment to develop digital economy will make ASEAN looseits competitive edge. Developing smart cities, deepening foreign relations,digitalising trade process, and building integrated system will be given toppriority to promote ASEAN’s agenda this year.-VNA
ASEAN’s young population and middle class are driving the growth of the digitaleconomy. Irrational investment to develop digital economy will make ASEAN looseits competitive edge. Developing smart cities, deepening foreign relations,digitalising trade process, and building integrated system will be given toppriority to promote ASEAN’s agenda this year.-VNA
VNA
