Latest news with #AseanSingleWindow
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Malaysia champions regional digital trade under 2025 Asean Chairmanship
KLANG: Malaysia is leading efforts to boost digital trade as the 2025 Asean chair and support the region's economic recovery. Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said under Malaysia's leadership, Asean is poised to address critical challenges such as supply chain disruptions, digital transformation, and climate change. He stated that the country is collaborating closely with regional partners to implement the Asean Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF), which aims to ensure a robust and sustainable recovery from the economic impacts of recent global crises. 'One of Malaysia's key priorities is to enhance the Asean Single Window, a digital platform that streamlines trade processes across member states. 'By reducing bureaucracy and improving trade efficiency, the ASW will play a pivotal role in strengthening regional supply chains and boosting intra-Asean trade, which currently accounts for nearly 25% of total Asean trade,' he said at the groundbreaking ceremony of YCH Group's RM500 million supply chain city Malaysia (SCC MY). Additionally, he said Malaysia is championing the development of the Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), which seeks to harmonise digital trade regulations and promote cross-border e-commerce. 'This initiative will not only enhance digital connectivity but also create new opportunities for businesses and consumers across the region,' he said. The Asean Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF) is a strategic initiative adopted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during the 37th Asean Summit on November 12, 2020. It serves as the region's consolidated exit strategy from the Covid-19 crisis, aiming to guide Asean's recovery efforts across various sectors and stages of recovery. The framework emphasises that digitalisation will be crucial to ensuring continuity in trade and services, particularly during crises. It calls for wider acceptance of digital documents, simplified customs procedures, and increased use of local currencies to reduce transaction costs and enhance financial integration. To support this, several Asean member states have begun relaxing documentation requirements and adopting digital platforms such as the Asean Single Window for customs declarations and certificates of origin, although inconsistencies remain between countries and agencies. Efforts are also underway to address gaps in infrastructure, data governance, cybersecurity, and legal frameworks—critical enablers for a seamless, secure regional digital economy under DEFA.
New Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
AEC achievement should spur Asean to greater integration
As Malaysia hosts the 46th Asean Summit, a significant milestone has been announced: the Asean Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint 2025 has reached 97 per cent implementation rate. This marks a critical juncture to reflect, recalibrate and reimagine Asean's economic trajectory in a far more complex global environment. Formally launched in 2015, the AEC represents Asean's most ambitious push towards regional integration. Grounded in five interconnected pillars—economic cohesion, competitiveness and innovation, sectoral cooperation, inclusivity and resilience, and global engagement—the blueprint has guided the region through significant transformation. Asean now stands as the fifth-largest global economy and the second-largest recipient of foreign direct investment. Intra-Asean trade, long criticised for its modest share of overall trade, has grown substantially in value, increasing from US$353 billion in 2007 to over US$856 billion by 2022. Tools like the Asean Single Window have further facilitated cross-border trade, enhancing regional supply chain integration. Yet intra-regional trade remains proportionally low compared to blocs like the European Union or United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, reflecting fragmented regulations and non-tariff barriers that continue to undermine the promise of a truly unified market. Even as Asean becomes more globally connected, the integration of its own markets still falls short of potential, revealing a paradox that demands urgent resolution. Progress of the AEC's second pillar, the fostering a competitive and innovative region, has been uneven. All Asean members now possess competition laws and regulatory authorities, up from just five in 2014. However, innovation capabilities remain concentrated in a few member states, such as Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. Others lag in research capacity, digital adoption and skills readiness, highlighting the widening disparities that could threaten the region's collective competitiveness in an era shaped by technological disruption, green transition demands and intensifying geopolitical tensions. Without convergence in regulatory standards and innovation ecosystems, Asean risks falling behind. Connectivity, both physical and digital, has improved markedly, but access remains unequal. While major infrastructure and logistics upgrades have reduced costs and streamlined processes, the digital divide continues to disadvantage marginalised populations and less developed economies. Bridging this gap requires not only expanded broadband access and affordability, but also harmonised data governance, cybersecurity standards and digital economy frameworks. Without these foundational reforms, Asean's ambition to become a global digital hub will remain aspirational. As the AEC Blueprint 2025 nears completion, Asean must look beyond the percentage of goals fulfilled. The "ASEAN Post-2025: Reimagining the ASEAN Economic Community" report by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute rightly points to a shifting context, one marked by climate volatility, inflationary pressures, geopolitical realignments and vulnerable supply chains. In such a world, resilience must become the cornerstone of the AEC's next chapter. That means integrating climate risk into economic planning, embedding equity and social protection into regional frameworks, and developing agile institutions capable of collective crisis response. Institutional reforms, particularly in monitoring and dispute resolution, are essential to reposition Asean as a proactive, credible and responsive economic bloc. Equally important is reaffirming Asean's people-first ethos. Economic integration must deliver tangible benefits to workers, small businesses and communities, not just corporations or state actors. This calls for deeper cooperation in skills recognition, labour mobility and digital upskilling, alongside expanded access to economic opportunities across all segments of society. Sustained prosperity will depend not only on growth rates or trade volumes, but also on how inclusively Asean can unlock the potential of its people. Externally, Asean must continue to play a constructive role in shaping global trade and investment flows. Its central role in initiatives like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership offers an avenue for reinforcing multilateralism and stabilising regional architecture. This outward posture must be matched by inward cohesion. Asean's credibility abroad will increasingly rest on its ability to deliver at home. From blueprint to breakthrough, the AEC has evolved from a set of frameworks into a platform of real consequence. The challenge now is to build a bolder, more coherent vision. One that enhances integration, deepens trust and places people at the centre. Asean must move beyond box-ticking towards building a resilient, inclusive, and future-ready. The writer is part of the Secretariat under Yayasan Sukarelawan Siswa for the Asean Summit 2025.
New Straits Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
No real Asean integration without MSME inclusion, says Samenta
KUALA LUMPUR: There can be no real Asean integration without real micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) inclusion, said the Small and Medium Enterprises Association Malaysia (Samenta). Its national president Datuk William Ng said Asean leaders must place MSMEs at the heart of the region's integration strategy to boost the group's otherwise low intra-regional trade. Policymakers, he added, must seize a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity to address structural barriers holding back MSMEs and to reposition them as key drivers of innovation and resilience in the region. "MSMEs make up over 97 per cent of all businesses and contribute to more than 85 per cent of employment in many Asean countries, yet their contribution to gross domestic product and intra-regional trade remains disproportionately low," Ng said in a statement. He cited various non-tariff barriers, from inconsistent product standards and fragmented licensing systems to slow, non-digitised customs procedures, as key impediments that make cross-border trade costly and inefficient for smaller firms. "These barriers are structural and long-standing. If we are serious about regional economic integration, we must adopt enforceable commitments to reduce them," Ng said, adding that mutual recognition arrangements and wider use of the Asean Single Window must be prioritised. Ng also warned that MSMEs risk being sidelined amid shifting global supply chains, such as the China Plus One strategy and continued geopolitical tensions. "This is an ideal moment for Asean to present itself as a neutral, business-friendly bloc. But that will only be credible if MSMEs are empowered to compete and contribute as equal partners in regional growth," he said. Samenta also urged the region to invest in dedicated innovation grants, establish regional centres for research and development, and support platforms for cross-border collaboration in talent and technology. It also called for more inclusive implementation of Asean's digital and environmental, social and governance agendas, and greater support for creative industries, particularly those led by youth and women, as a new growth frontier for MSMEs. "The Kuala Lumpur Asean Summit must be a turning point. A resilient Asean must begin from the ground up, with our small businesses at the core of our shared future," Ng said.
