The Jakarta Post

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

ASEAN faces biggest shift in supply chains

Global trade tensions continue to dominate this year’s headlines and the shift of production to efficient ASEAN countries is accelerating.

Stuart Tait (The Jakarta Post)

Premium

Jakarta

Tue, November 13, 2018 Published on Nov. 13, 2018 Published on 2018-11-13T09:32:34+07:00

Set as preferred source

Listen up: Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Singapore, on Monday. The prime minister during the summit called for open markets amid a rising trend of protectionism. (Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha)

G

lobal trade tensions continue to dominate this year’s headlines and the shift of production to efficient ASEAN countries is accelerating.

ASEAN businesses are clearly paying attention. They are making incremental changes to their supply chains, but is the pace of change fast enough?

HSBC’s global Navigator survey — which was launched recently and included the views of more than 8,500 corporates (1,000 in ASEAN) — finds Southeast Asia as the most trade-positive region in the world. Moreover, Navigator reveals that business decision-makers in ASEAN view the global shift towards protectionism as increasing the value of their business.

Being both positive towards trade and protectionism seems a little counter-intuitive at first glance. But dig a little deeper and it is clear that businesses are shrewdly seeing and capitalizing on the opportunity amid the emerging trade disruption.