Asean still attractive for European businesses, survey shows

Chris Humphrey, executive director of the EU-Asean Business Council. - The Nation/ANN

BANGKOK (The Nation/ANN): The EU-Asean Business Council on Thursday (Oct 8) released its sixth Business Sentiment Survey, which showed that most European businesses based in the region see Asean as offering the best economic opportunities and most expect to expand in the next five years.

However, they cite supply chain barriers, Asean Economic Integration and FTAs as crucial areas to address.

Among the key highlights of this year’s survey are:

• 56 per cent of EU businesses plan to enter Asean markets, a slight drop from 61 per cent in 2019.

• 65 per cent of respondents favour Thailand as the second-best alternative for expansion and EU-Asean free-trade agreement, similar to previous years.

• 59 per cent of respondents in Thailand are satisfied with the government’s Covid-19 response.

• 53 per cent see Asean as the region with the best economic opportunity compared to 63 per cent last year.

• 47 per cent are considering reorganising supply chains post-Covid-19, with Asean, Europe and China seen as top destinations

• 73 per cent expect to expand current levels of trade and investment in Asean in the next five years, compared to 84 per cent last year.

• Only 2 per cent feel the Asean Economic Integration is progressing fast enough, versus 6 per cent last year

.• Only 4 per cent find Asean customs procedures speedy and efficient, versus 8 per cent in 2019.

• 62 per cent of respondents who use supply chains reported facing many obstacles to the efficient use of supply chains in Asean, compared to 78 per cent last year.

• 98 per cent said they want EU to accelerate FTA negotiations with the grouping, slightly higher than 96 per cent in 2019. - The Nation/Asia News Network