PETALING JAYA: Asean remains a highly investable region but requires stronger policy coordination and consistent implementation to gain foreign investors' confidence.
Asean Manufacturing Network (AMN) chairman Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said data by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Unescap) found that greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) into Asean declined by 17% in the first three quarters of 2025.
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Soh, who is also Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing (FMM) president, said the greenfield FDI dropped from US$89.5bil in 2024 (Q1 to Q3) to US$74.4bil in 2025 (Q1 to Q3).
"Despite this, Asean continued to capture 29% of greenfield FDI announcements in Asia Pacific and received US$39.8bil in intraregional greenfield investment pledges, representing 36% of the total.
"Asean’s ability to compete and attract investment will increasingly depend on how well the region functions as an integrated production and trade ecosystem," he said in a statement on Saturday (Jan 24).
Soh added that Asean must reduce cost, time and regulatory frictions that continue to hinder cross-border trade and weaken regional value chain linkages, especially as supply chains face higher volatility, rising compliance demands and tighter delivery expectations.
"Against this backdrop, the Asean Supply Chain Council (ASCC) is aligned on priority action areas where the private sector will bring practical and implementable recommendations to Asean governments in 2026," he added.
The statement was issued following an ASCC meeting chaired by Soh in Kuala Lumpur on Friday (Jan 23), which saw the participation of 56 representatives from the AMN, Asean Business Advisory Council, Asean sectoral business associations and partner organisations.
Soh said the meeting had reviewed the state of regional integration in two priority sectors identified for 2026, namely food and beverages and semiconductors.
"In the food and beverage sector, intra-Asean trade remains limited, with only 23 to 24% of Asean food trade occurring within the region.
"This underlines the need to accelerate practical reforms that make it easier for businesses, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to scale across Asean markets," he said.
"In the semiconductor sector, discussions focused on strengthening resilience across high-value and time-sensitive supply chains, including improving border predictability, reducing operational disruptions and supporting talent mobility to sustain Asean’s role in critical global production networks," he added.
Soh said the ASCC) would consolidate private sector priorities into a structured set of recommendations to Asean Economic Ministers and Leaders through the Asean Business Advisory Council.
The recommendations would focus on cross-cutting measures that strengthen regional supply chain performance.
"This includes accelerating digital trade facilitation, improving supply chain visibility and enabling trusted cross-border data exchange to reduce friction and strengthen Asean’s competitiveness for trade, production and investment," he said.
