When you think of doing business in ASEAN, Singapore naturally springs to mind, as does Bangkok for companies looking to set up in the Mekong region or Kuala Lumpur, with its ideal geographical location. However, the ASEAN Economic Community is having a similar effect to the European Union twenty years ago, encouraging the emergence of supra-regional metropolises. What Lyon, Barcelona, Edinburgh or Hamburg are to Europe, Medan, Bandung, Penang, Mandalay, Vientiane, Cebu or Danang are or will be to ASEAN. With the exception of Vientiane and its 500,000 inhabitants, these cities have populations approaching one million (Danang, Mandalay, Penang) and even 2.5 million (Bandung, Cebu and Medan).
All of them are establishing themselves as new hubs. Medan, on the island of Sumatra, is positioning itself as ASEAN's gateway to the Indian subcontinent, in competition with Mandalay, Burma's second-largest city, which is rediscovering its trade links with Bangladesh and Bengal. For their part, Bandung and Johor Bahru are playing the technology card. Bandung - just two hours from Jakarta - has become a centre of excellence thanks to the ITB, one of Indonesia's top universities. As for Johor Bahru, the Malaysian government intends to bring this frontier city out of the shadow of its neighbour Singapore. The Indochinese peninsula is also waking up. Chinese money is pouring into Vientiane's real estate projects, and the capital of Laos is asserting itself as the new bridgehead for its giant neighbour in ASEAN. In Vietnam, Danang, the country's fourth largest city, is taking advantage of its port and infrastructure to become the country's capital for conferences, congresses and exhibitions. Phnom Penh is also gradually emerging. The Cambodian capital is known for its particularly accommodating business climate. Towers now dominate the city's skyline, while shopping centres, trendy restaurants and bars make it look like a little Bangkok. A new Eldorado...
ASEAN in figures
ASEAN is the third largest labour market in the world, after China and India. If ASEAN were a single economic entity, it would be the world's seventh largest economy, with a combined GDP of US$2.6 trillion. According to the Asian Development Bank, the region could even become the world's fourth largest economy by 2050. Its population of 660 million is larger than that of the European Union and North America.
+4,7points
This is the GDP growth estimated by the EU ASEAN Business Council (EABC) if ASEAN managed to eliminate discriminatory practices against foreign companies, with local bureaucracy protecting its businesses. The EABC estimates that there are more than 2,000 discriminatory measures in ASEAN, an increase of 30 % compared with 2010.
