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It recently came to this blogger’s attention that the value of trade between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is expected to increase significantly in the coming months and years. In order to provide further insight into this issue it may be best to quote directly from a recent article posted on the website English.cri.cn:

Trade value between China and ASEAN nations is expected to top 300 billion U.S. dollars this year as the Free Trade Area (FTA) continues to offer boosts, said Xu Ningning, the executive secretary general of China-ASEAN Business Council. The FTA, which started operation since the beginning of last year, has boosted economic exchanges between China and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states, Xu said Sunday at a forum in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province. The estimated amount will be higher than the 292.8 billion U.S. dollars registered between the two sides in 2010, up 37.5 percent from a year earlier. Customs data showed that in the first four months of this year, trade value between China and ASEAN nations rose 26.5 percent year-on-year to 110.2 billion U.S. dollars…

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The ASEAN community includes the following jurisdictions: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and the Kingdom of Cambodia. Many feel that these jurisdictions have a great deal of potential for economic growth in the future. Meanwhile, as can be gathered from the quotation above, China remains a vibrant economic actor which has been engaging the ASEAN economies. In previous postings on this blog it was noted that the United States of America and China are committed to cooperation in ASEAN engagement. Concurrently, China appears poised to create a rail link between Thailand and Greater China while a billion dollar Chinese trade complex is to be erected in Bangkok. In that vein, the Prime Minister of Malaysia was recently noted for discussing ASEAN relations with both China and India. To quote directly from the official website of Business Standard, Business-Standard.com:

After a speech calling for the establishment of a new multilateralism where nations, especially Asia, would not have to take sides between the United States and China, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has said the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) would not need to choose between India and China. “Asean is located between two great civilisations, China and India. Both these countries, as part of the Asean architecture, the Asean +3 and the East Asia Summit, are quite happy to accept Asean as the centrality in the whole process,” Najib said in reply to a question at the opening of the International Institute for Strategic Studies Asian Security Summit: The Shangri La Dialogue. “Both these two countries want to engage constructively with Asean and (are) looking at ways and means of increasing their trade, investment and other forms of exchanges with the Asean countries. In short, I am quite optimistic we can develop a meaningful and constructive relationship with India and China,” he added…

In a geopolitical sense, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is positioned so as to enjoy trade benefits with both India and China, two of the world’s economies which are expected to show tremendous economic growth in the coming days, months, and years. This observation is made at a time when an inauguration of the Cambodian Securities Exchange is expected. To quote directly from the official website of Xinhua, Xinhuanet.com:

PHNOM PENH, May 30 (Xinhua) — Cambodia is scheduled to inaugurate the long-awaited Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) on July 11, according to the statement of the finance ministry released to the media on Monday. And the first securities trading will begin towards the end of 2011, added the statement dated on May 26…

The administration of this web log strongly encourages readers to click upon the hyperlinks above to read this article in detail. This blogger must point out that, although noted in the aforementioned article, it would seem that actual trading on the Cambodian Stock Exchange is apparently not expected to commence upon the exchange’s inauguration. To further elucidate this point it may be best  to quote directly from the official website of the Reuters News Service, Reuters.com:

May 30 (Reuters) – Trading on Cambodia’s long-awaited stock exchange, which was scheduled to start in July, has been delayed yet again until the end of the year because companies planning listings need more time to comply with regulations, operators said on Monday. Ek Sonn Chan, director general of state-owned Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA), said there were many details still to be ironed out but his company was going ahead with plans for a $20 million flotation…

The administration of this web log asks readers to click upon the hyperlinks above to read this story in further detail as it may provide further perspective upon these developments.

Clearly, there appear to be some bumps in the road toward getting this exchange operational. As with many things in Southeast Asia, it often takes a significant amount of time to undertake a substantial project such as the opening of a stock exchange. Interested parties are encouraged to conduct research into this issue until such time as the exchange’s trading operation is confirmed.

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Tags: 300 billion U.S. dollars, ASEAN, Asean +3, ASsociation of Southeast ASian Nations, Brunei, Cambodia, Cambodian Securities Exchange, Cambodian stock exchange, Cambodian Stock Exchange inauguration, China-ASEAN, China-ASEAN Business Council, Chinese Trade Complex, Chinese-Thai High Speed Rail, CSX, East Asia Summit, Ek Sonn Chan, Free Trade Area, FTA, high speed rail link, Indonesia, International Institute for Strategic Studies Asian Security Summit, Khmer, Kingdom of Cambodia, Kingdom of Thailand, Kunming, Laos, Malaysia, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, multilateralism, Philippines, Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, PPWSA, rail link, railroad, Singapore, Sino-Thai Railway, Thai, Thailand, The Shangri La Dialogue, Vietnam, Xu Ningning, Yunnan Province
Posted in ASEAN Business, Cambodia Business, China Business, India Business, Malaysia Business, Thailand Business | No Comments »

It recently came to this blogger’s attention that the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has expressed some concern about the possibility of the Union of Myanmar (also sometimes colloquially referred to as Burma) becoming Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In order to provide further insight it may be best to quote directly from the website of Channel News Asia, ChannelNewsAsia.com:

SINGAPORE: German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday urged ASEAN to openly discuss Myanmar’s political and human rights problems before the country takes its turn as chair of the regional bloc. “Looking at the discussion about Myanmar and its interest in taking over the presidency of ASEAN, I am a little bit concerned,” she told a forum in Singapore, a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Merkel told an audience of government officials, foreign diplomats and academics that “the present leadership of Myanmar has not really proved that they are serious about embarking on the road of democracy…”

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The Union of Myanmar has been in the news a great deal recently as that country recently held elections ushering in something of a new era in Myanmar’s politics although there are some who argue that there has been little real change resulting from the aforementioned elections. That stated, it is this blogger’s personal opinion that any progress under the circumstances would be a good thing. Frequent readers of this blog may note that Myanmar was recently rumored to be pondering the opening of a stock exchange although that has yet to see fruition.

Meanwhile, the United States and China appear poised for cooperation in matters pertaining to ASEAN as a recent article on the Voice of America website pointed out. To quote directly from the aforementioned article:

A top State Department official says that as the United States works to deepen its engagement in Southeast Asia, working closely together with China is a key part of that effort. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell says that one of the the most important things that the United States is seeking to do this year, both at the ASEAN regional forum and the East Asia Summit, is show the United States deep commitment to working with China…As the United States works to find common ground with China, the world’s second largest economy and a rising Asia-Pacific military power, Campbell says Washington will be seeking to highlight areas of common pursuit with Beijing and find specific projects the two countries can work with each other in the region…

This blogger encourages readers to click on the hyperlinks noted above to find out more.

It is good to see that American officials are making an effort to become more engaged in the ASEAN region especially with the cooperation of the Chinese since combined efforts could yield significant benefits in the form of better diplomatic and trade relations for all concerned. In a previous posting it was noted that Chinese officials plan to incorporate a high speed rail link into the current rail system employed in the Kingdom of Thailand so that there would be a contiguous rail link between Thailand, Laos, and Greater China. In addition, it was also announced that Bangkok will likely soon see a Chinese Trade Complex which is to be designed to provide a platform for the trade of goods in Thailand. How all of these developments will ultimately play out remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: there is room for optimism in a current analysis of ASEAN developments.

For related information please see: US-Thai Treaty of Amity.

Tags: ASEAN, ASEAN Business, Asia-Pacific, ASsociation of Southeast ASian Nations, Bangkok, Beijing, Burma, China, China Business, Chinese Trade Complex, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Laos, Laos Business, Myanmar, Singapore, stock exchange, Thailand, Thailand Business, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, US-Thai Treaty of Amity, Voice of America, Washington
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