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ASEAN businesses to boost internal trade

The ASEAN Business Forum 2015, held on March 12 in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, focused on boosting trade among the bloc’s members.
The ASEAN Business Forum 2015, held on March 12 in the Malaysiancapital of Kuala Lumpur, focused on boosting trade among the bloc’smembers.

The event, organised by the Malaysia External TradeDevelopment Corporation (MATRADE), hosted more than 1,000 participants,including diplomats, economists and businessmen in the region.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Malaysian Minister of InternationalTrade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed said the forum aims to enhanceawareness of opportunities in intra-ASEAN trade and investment.

It also gives participants an insight into ASEAN needs and prospects,updates on the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and specific areas ofinterest in the ASEAN market.

As chair of ASEAN, Malaysia willfocus on enhancing awareness of the regional grouping to the generalpublic this year, he added.

At a press conference on the sameday, Mohamed said ASEAN is a growing market and its total trade growththis year is likely to exceed that of the global average by 2-3 percent.

Total foreign direct investment in ASEAN in 2013 reached122.38 billion USD, 21.32 billion USD of which was sourced from theASEAN member states.

He also said Malaysia is expected to seeadditional investment from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and thePhilippines this year, given the improvements in business landscapes andeconomic stability.-VNA
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