Asean 2045: A blueprint for manufacturing competitiveness, economic resilience

New Straits Times

10-07-2025

The 46th Asean Summit adopted a strategic blueprint entitled, "Asean 2045: Our Shared Future". It aims to create a more competitive and dynamic ecosystem for the manufacturing sector.
A key focus is to harness advances in science, technology, and innovation to boost manufacturing competitiveness. The vision encourages the development of advanced industries and the creative economy, thereby enabling more economic integration and innovation-led growth.
This will help Asean manufacturers move up the value chain and produce higher-value goods. Integration into global supply chains is another critical benefit.
It aims to streamline both upstream and downstream production processes, strengthen distribution and logistics networks, and ensure secure access to raw materials.
Stronger and more resilient global supply chains will enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and enable the scaling of value-added manufacturing outputs.
Asean 2045 emphasises support for SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises) because of their vital role in the manufacturing ecosystem, promotes expanding market access and improving digital trade facilitation to help SMEs grow and integrate into regional and global value chains.
Sustainability and economic resilience are central themes in Asean 2045, encouraging green and blue economy initiatives, disaster risk financing, and climate change mitigation to ensure manufacturing remains resilient amid environmental challenges.
Businesses engaged in the green technologies, renewable energy and climate-resilient industries will, therefore, find new opportunities.
To reduce exposure to external financial shocks, the vision promotes the use of local currencies for cross-border transactions, stabilising trade and investment flows within Asean.
And, by fostering a more integrated single market with increased intra-Asean trade and investment, it will be possible to facilitate easier market access and stronger supply chain integration, benefiting manufacturers across the region.
The digital economy and technology industries are also set to thrive under Asean 2045.
The vision promotes a secure and interoperable digital ecosystem, creating fertile ground for sectors involved in digital services, artificial intelligence, fintech, e-commerce, and digital infrastructure.
These industries will play a crucial role in driving economic growth and regional integration and they will also present opportunities for the sector.
Supply chain resilience is another crucial issue. Since all the Asean members are affected by supply chain issues, Malaysian companies that are focussed on addressing these constraints should be incentivised.
This is all the more relevant if Malaysia wants to do its part to increase intra-Asean trade.
The health and social services sector is also a priority, with Asean focusing on universal health coverage and resilient healthcare systems. This opens growth prospects for healthcare providers, pharmaceuticals, and medical technology companies.
The government can do its part in supporting SMEs in the manufacturing sector.
First, the government can provide substantial financial support and loan guarantees to enhance SME development under the 2045 blueprint. Under Malaysia's Budget 2025, there were allocations for business financing, loan guarantees and special allocations for Bumiputera SMEs.
These guarantees help SMEs secure loans even if they lack collateral, enabling them to invest in machinery, automation, and expansion, inputs that are essential to enter the regional market.
Second, the government must do more to promote digital transformation through grants for companies that have an Asean focus.
These initiatives encourage SMEs to adopt digital tools, automate processes, and enhance operational efficiency, helping them remain competitive in an increasingly digital economy.
Third, capacity building and infrastructure upgrades are necessary for the success of Asean 2045 including access to databases, knowledge of competitor markets, knowledge of FTAs and methodologies for taking advantage of them.
Finally, under Asean 2045 there are opportunities for a wide range of manufacturing and related industries.
This will include different sectors ranging from pharmaceuticals to medical technology and related industries such as transportation and warehousing.
Since sustainability is a big target, there will be abundant opportunities in the production of equipment energy-related products.
The government can also upgrade the surrounding ecosystem by improving skill availability and making institutional support frictionless.
These measures will help Malaysian manufacturing SMEs overcome financial, technological, and operational challenges.
The role of the government will be useful to position them for sustainable growth and integration into regional and global value chains that aligned with Asean 2045 goals.
Overall, it also positions Asean as a leading industrial and manufacturing hub in the Indo-Pacific.