THE Chairman’s Statement during the last Asean Summit (April 2017) drew a bright picture of future Asean economic growth prospects. “Asean’s combined GDP stood at $2.55 trillion in the first half of 2016, with a robust year-on-year real GDP growth rate of 4.7 percent despite the challenging global environment

In 2015, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) was officially fully established. In some ways similar to the economic unity of the EU, the broad aims of the AEC are to develop (1) a single market and production base, (2) a region of more equitable economic development, and (3) a globally integrated economic region. To achieve these, trade barriers will be removed or reduced and standards across a number of sectors (i.e. cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, agricultural products, and medical devices) will be harmonized.

An integrated and efficient transport system will enhance regional connectivity and facilitate free flow of goods and movement of people, which is one of the critical elements for the realisation of a single market and production base under AEC.

Building infrastructure networks that connects ASEAN by land would support greater intra- and inter-regional trade with more efficient and greater accessibility for goods and services.

Global business leaders are increasingly looking to India and Southeast Asia as alternative supply chain destinations while trade relations between China and the US deteriorate, according to a poll by PwC published on May 9.

In order to serve the needs of the users of statistical information in international research and comparison, the General Statistics Office has collected and compiled the book "Socio-economic data of ASEAN members in the period 2000-2020”

Since it was declared a pandemic in March 2020, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has continued to upend lives and disrupt livelihoods around the world. ASEAN has not been spared.

Since the World Health Organization (WHO) finally declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic on 11 March 2020, lives have been upended and economic activities disrupted around the world.