CORENET GOBAL REPORT: AS ECONOMIC REGION SOLIDIFIES, GAINS WILL BE SEEN IN CORPORATE REAL ESTATE
ATLANTA, GA (8 DECEMBER 2015) -- Southeast Asia is emerging as a growing economic region with dramatic implications for corporate real estate, according a new report from 乐竞体育官方入口 Global.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a coalition of 10 diverse nations that include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos (Lao People鈥檚 Democratic Republic), Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Over the past decade, these ASEAN countries have experienced significant economic development and continued urbanization, with a surge in growth coming from emerging countries in particular. The region combined represents the seventh largest economy in the world with 2014 GDP output that topped USD $2.5 trillion. And despite a global slowdown, the average annual growth rate for the region for the next four years (2015-2019) is forecast to remain at a healthy 5.6 percent growth rate.
One of the region鈥檚 key resources is its human capital, both in terms of its large labor market and a sizable consumer market. ASEAN is home to a population of 600 million and a growing middle class.
Its low-cost labor environment also has been a big draw for manufacturers looking to set up lower cost production facilities in the region, particularly as wages and other operating costs have continued to rise in China.
Overall, ASEAN saw a total of $111.8 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2014 from countries outside of the region. Singapore attracted the lion鈥檚 share of that FDI at $67.6 billion, followed by Thailand at $10.9 billion; Indonesia at $8.8 billion; Malaysia at $7.9 billion; and Vietnam at $7.7 billion, according to ASEAN statistics.
Economic growth is being fueled on two fronts. On one hand, individual countries are moving forward with their own national agendas. Added to that, there is a regional collaborative movement through the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) initiative that aims to spur economic development by opening borders to encourage more free flowing movement of products, people, services and capital between the 10 participating countries.
Ultimately, even though there have been strides made in creating a regional economy, there are still some unique differences when doing business in individual countries. Those differences range from language and currency to laws and business practices.
ASEAN countries also have their own individual foreign investment policies.
While there remains some nationalist protectionism, the AEC template and guidelines are there to ensure that the whole of ASEAN moves forward as a stronger economic region, says Desmond Sim, head of Southeast Asia Research for CBRE.
鈥淭he AEC does represent a lot of promise to create a stronger economic region by making it easier to conduct business between countries in the region. To a certain extent, the AEC will help to make the borders disappear in terms of freer movement of goods and people between the different countries,鈥� according to the report.
About 乐竞体育官方入口 Global
乐竞体育官方入口 Global is the world鈥檚 leading professional association for corporate real estate (CRE) executives with strategic responsibility for the real property used by multinational corporations for their own operations. 乐竞体育官方入口 Global鈥檚 more than 9,500 members, who include 70% of the top 100 U.S. companies and nearly half of the Global 2000, meet locally, globally and virtually to develop networks, share knowledge, learn and thrive professionally. For more information, please visit www.corenetglobal.org.
