1

4

8

2

5

9 3

7

6

10CARICAPTURES

BE

TA

NEWS MONITORING 18 JULY 2011 ISSUE

Japan, ASEAN

01 ASEAN MAY

LURE US$80

BILLION IN FDI

Key Message ASEAN Deputy

Secretary General Puspanathan

Sundram predicts FDI flow into ASEAN

will reach US$80 billion one year after

the ASEAN Economic Community takes

effect in 2015. Puspanathan said by facilitating trade,

connectivity, and transport, and focusing on

human resources, ASEAN would draw 3.4% of

current FDI in the world

The prediction was made at a press

conference in Kuala Lumpur immediately after

the ASEAN Trade Ministers’ Dialogue with

the Federation of Japanese Chambers of

Commerce and Industry in ASEAN (FJCCIA)

The Dialogue represented ASEAN’s effort

in engaging the private sectors - particularly

the Japanese business sector

The meeting endorsed the development of a

10-year strategic vision for ASEAN and Japan

FJCCIA Chief said Japan considered

ASEAN as

a strategic

market

and a large

production

centre

ASEAN

Economic

Ministers

agreed to

conduct a

Road Show

to Japan

in 2012 to create business and knowledge

exchanges between Japanese SMEs and

ASEAN

ASEAN Secretariat, Saigon Daily (July 11, 2011)

Key Message Indonesia will raise the

issue of instituting a joint ASEAN visa

system at the next ASEAN ministerial

meeting (AMM) in mid July 2011. “The joint visa system will resemble the

Schengen visa system adhered to by some

European countries” (Marty Natalegawa,

Foreign Minister of Indonesia)

The proposed system will enable visitors

from outside ASEAN to travel within

ASEAN’s ten countries with a single visa

Most ASEAN countries namely Indonesia,

Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei

Darussalam, Singapore, Vietnam issue free

visas to visitors within ASEAN

Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia have not

implemented the free-visa policy

ASEANTA (ASEAN Tourism Association) is

lobbying governments to adopt a single visa

valid for all ten countries, to turn ASEAN into

a single tourist destination

Elly Hutabarat, Vice President of ASEANTA

says the single ASEAN visa is supported by

governments but encounters implementation

problems due to varying policies within

ASEAN’s ten countries

MCOT (July 14, 2011)

ASEAN

02 INDONESIA

TO PROPOSE

JOINT ASEAN VISA

11 1507 07‘11 ‘11

DISCLAIMER: The news articles contained in this report are extracted and republished from various credible news sources. As such, CIMB ASEAN Research Institute (CARI) does not make any guarantee, representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness, reliability or fairness of any such information and opinion contained in this report. Should any information be doubtful, readers are advised to make their own independent evaluation of such information.

Cambodia

03 STOCK

EXCHANGE

LAUNCHES

Key Message The Cambodian

Securities Exchange (CSX) launched

on 11 July 2011 but Cambodia has no

companies that are ready to go public. The lack of preparedness among local

businesses reflects a broader uncertainty

about the country’s capacity to adapt to the

challenges of operating financial markets

The CSX is a 55:45 joint venture between the

Cambodian government and the Korea Exchange

The exchange will help bring capital into

Cambodia’s economy

Telecom Cambodia, Phnom Penh Water

Supply Authority and Sihanoukville

Autonomous Port will be listing on the

exchange at the end of the year

The exchange will be instrumental in

widening the use of the Cambodian Riel,

weaning Cambodia from the US Dollar and

allowing monetary policy instruments to be used

Detractors expressed doubt that Cambodia–

long bottoming on the Corruptions Perceptions

Index – is capable of upholding effective

regulatory measures to safeguard investors

Cambodian businesses – usually family-run

– need to culturally adapt to the presence of

a capital market

Phnom Penh Post (July 11, 2011)

Key Message CIMB ASEAN Research

Institute (CARI) debuted its flagship

event, CARI Conversations in Jakarta

on July 14 2011. CARI Conversations is an intimate informal

dialogue between invited discussants and

participants focusing on the realisation of the

ASEAN Community by 2015

The featured discussants were

Pushpanathan Sundram, Deputy Secretary

General for ASEAN Economic Community,

ASEAN Secretariat; Iman Pambagyo, Director

of ASEAN Corporation, Minister of Trade

Indonesia; Dr. Reza Siregar, Director of the

South East Asian Central Banks Research

and Training Centre; and Meidyatama

CARI ON THE GO

Suryodiningrat, Editor in Chief of the

Jakarta Post; and Dr. Juwono Sudarsono,

Former Minister of Defence.

Invited participants included H.E.

Ambassador David Carden, US Ambassador

to ASEAN; Prof Fukunari Kimura, Chief

Economist for Research Institute for

ASEAN and East Asia; Weng Gen Hua,

First Secretary of Chinese Embassy; and

Anangga Roosdiono, Chairman of ASEAN

Business Advisory Council

The dialogue focused on the

implementation of the ASEAN Economic

Community, the preparedness of businesses

to join the community and shared values of

the community

THE CARI CONVERSATIONS

SERIES MAKES ITS DEBUT IN

JAKARTA

Indonesia

L-R: John Pang (CEO,

CARI), Pushpanathan

Sundram, Meidyatama

Suryodiningrat, Iman

Pambagyo, Dr. Reza

Siregar.

Malaysia

04 MALAYSIA

CRITICISED

BY ASEAN INTER-

GOVERNMENTAL

COMMISSION ON

HUMAN RIGHTS

Key Message Jakarta’s representative

to ASEAN’s human rights commission

called Malaysia’s response to Saturday’s

Bersih rally a violation of human

rights, despite the government’s

attempts to explain its actions. Rafendi Djamin (Indonesia’s representative

to the ASEAN Intergovernmental

Commission on Human Rights, AICHR) said

Putrajaya’s actions were a violation of human

rights principles

Malaysian police cordoned off central Kuala

Lumpur and used tear gas and water cannon

against thousands of people demanding

electoral reform

About 1,650 people were arrested at the

rally, but most were released shortly after

Amnesty International & the Human Rights

Watch (HRW) also denounced the arrests

Mark Toner (Spokesman, US Department

of State) said people should be allowed to

“freely express their democratic aspirations”

The Bersih 2.0 coalition organised the rally,

saying the electoral system is plagued with

fraud and demand longer campaign periods,

automatic voter registration and equality of

access to the mainstream media

Street protests are rare in Malaysia,

but foreign investors are worried that

anti-government sentiment could delay

economic reforms, seen as essential to draw

investment

The Jakarta Post (July 15, 2011)

11 1507 07‘11 ‘11

DISCLAIMER: The news articles contained in this report are extracted and republished from various credible news sources. As such, CIMB ASEAN Research Institute (CARI) does not make any guarantee, representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness, reliability or fairness of any such information and opinion contained in this report. Should any information be doubtful, readers are advised to make their own independent evaluation of such information.

Vietnam

06 VIETNAM ECONOMIC ZONE DRAWS

US$12 BIL. INVESTMENT

Key Message An economic zone in

Vietnam has received nearly US$12

billion of investments from 103

businesses including foreigners since

its establishment in 2006.

The zone spreads nearly 23,000 hectares in

Ky Anh District

Several national projects at the zone

has been finished and put into operation,

including Vung Ang Petrol and Gas General

Store, the North Central Liquidized Gas

General Store, Vung Ang Port and several

factories producing forestry products for

export

Ho Anh Tuan (Chief Manager, Vung Ang

Economic Zone) said the Vung Ang deep

port can receive ships between five and 3.5

million tons

Projects pending investment permission

include an oil refinery worth US$12.47 billion

with expected output of 16 million tons a

year, a steel factory and the second phase of

the thermo power plant

Saigon Daily (July 11, 2011)

Vietnam, Thailand

08 OFFICIALS

WANT

MINIMUM WAGES

RAISED

Key Message Vietnamese officials

suggest raising the minimum wage

to give factory workers better living

conditions given rising inflation, but

businesses say they cannot afford it. 34 wildcat strikes took place this year as

workers complained about salaries unable to

meet basic needs

A government decision on May 1 raised the

minimum wage by 14% from VND730,000

(US$35) to VND830,000 (US$40) a month,

but this does not match recent price hikes

and inflation which are set to increase further

Nearly 260 foreign-invested businesses

at Hanoi’s IPs and EPZs pay workers the

minimum wage set by the government

The ministry’s latest proposal is to raise

wages between VND1.4 million (US$68) to

VND1.9 million (US$92) a month, depending

on the region

Ministry officials say the increase still falls

short of real needs

Pheu Thai’s proposed minimum wage

of THB300 causes companies to

reconsider expanding their production

in Thailand and relocate to other

countries. A Japanese member of the Japanese

Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok said

Japanese companies operating in Thailand

are also concerned about Thailand’s labour

shortages and seek foreign workers

The Board of Investment reportedly told

foreign firms to cut their numbers of migrant

employees within six months

Munenori Yamada (Outgoing President,

Japan External Trade Organisation’s Bangkok

office) said relocations from Thailand to other

countries are likely for sectors where wage

levels are critical to operations

Foreign chambers told the Board of Trade

that its members are not comfortable with the

THB300 promise for workers and a minimum

salary of THB15,000 for university graduates

Thanh Nien News (July 8, 2011)

Thailand

07 BANK OF

THAILAND

PREPARES FOR

ASEAN INTEGRATION

Key Message The Bank of Thailand

is preparing for regional integration,

including the financial integration

framework under the ASEAN Economic

Community(AEC) in 2015. “Various committees are working toward

ASEAN’s financial integration by addressing

issues in financial service liberalisation, capital

account liberalisation and payment systems

integration” (Chim Tantiyaswasdikul, Asst. Governor,

Bank of Thailand’s IT Group)

One of the AEC financial policies is to promote

the use of local currencies for intra-regional trade

AEC will boost intra-ASEAN trade and drive up

transaction volumes, hence banks must grasp the

needs of customers and close service gaps

The Nation (July 11, 2011)

11 1507 07‘11 ‘11

DISCLAIMER: The news articles contained in this report are extracted and republished from various credible news sources. As such, CIMB ASEAN Research Institute (CARI) does not make any guarantee, representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness, reliability or fairness of any such information and opinion contained in this report. Should any information be doubtful, readers are advised to make their own independent evaluation of such information.

Singapore

09 SINGAPORE’S

ECONOMY

SHRANK IN SECOND

QUARTER AS

MANUFACTURING

SLUMPED

Key Message Singapore’s economy

shrank for the first time in three

quarters as manufacturing slumped

adding to evidence the slowdowns

in Europe and the U.S. are curbing

growth in Asia. Europe’s debt crisis and rising U.S.

joblessness have threatened demand for

exports from Asia

Singapore remains vulnerable to

fluctuations in overseas demand for

manufactured goods, despite shifting to its

reliance towards services & tourism

The shift to lower value products in

pharmaceuticals played a major role in the

slowdown of manufacturing

Bloomberg (July 14, 2011)

ASEAN, GCC

10 GCC-ASEAN FREE TRADE

AGREEMENT DISCUSSED

Key Message Officials at GCC and

ASEAN stressed the importance of

enhancing co-operation and exploring

the possibility of a Free Trade

Agreement. The first meeting of the Joint Work Team for

Economic and Trade Cooperation between Gulf

Cooperation Council (GCC) and ASEAN took

place in Salalah on July 10

The meeting explored cooperation in trade

and investment and academic, student and

technical exchange at the government and

private level between the two groups

Abdulrahim Hasan Naqi (FGCCC Secretary-

General) signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU), in addition to

organising a forum for the GCC and ASEAN

private sector in Muscat in February 2012

Talib bin Miran al Ra’eesi (Head of

Economic Affairs, Foreign Ministry) said a

free trade zone between these countries will

increase the volume of trade and aid direct

and indirect investment

A symposium on future economic

cooperation was agreed upon, to be held in

the joint ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi in

October 2011

Observer, Times of Oman (July 13, 2011)

CHECKPOINT

QUICK FACTS ON GCC

The Gulf Cooperation Council is a trade bloc consisting

of six countries in the Persian Gulf; the United Arab

Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar & Kuwait.

The bloc focuses on standardizing regulations,

fostering industrial progress, cooperating in scientific

research & encouraging private sector cooperation.

ASEAN-GCC relations include trade & investment,

economic development, & cultural cooperation through

joint meetings & working groups.

WHAT IS THE GULF

COOPERATION COUNCIL?