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ASEAN Integration Summit — Thoughts on integration

Posted by axelwinter.com on

Thomson Reuters invited me to share some of my thoughts on corporate readiness for the AEC Asean Economic Community, based upon my blog articles.

The following are my summary points, which shared during a panel discussions.

General thoughts on ASEAN

  • ASEAN needs visionary leaders who given ASEAN and the community a strong vision. Think Adenauer and de Gaulle, who forged a peaceful and prosperous Europe post World War II. What will ASEAN and the AEC be when it grows up?
  • Slow market liberalisation through the AEC and also other free trade agreements
  • Launch and adoption of digital businesses like UBER, GrabTaxi show both the need and that existing players across ASEAN (the globe?) aren’t addressing clients needs
  • Local companies need to drive scale or excel in a niche to compete, due to market liberalisation
  • Foreign companies who are having a global operating model can compete easier in some sectors versus locals
  • Integration drives organizations to expand — competition to head up dramatically
  • Many “fake” experts on AEC, ASEAN Integration, and Corporate Transformation
  • Having had global, regional, and local roles, I would argue that from a multi national perspective the priorities and views are are more clear versus a local only perspective.

Business challenges for ASEAN integration

  • Asean Conglomerates often prefer to expand horizontally into different verticals versus expand vertical businesses (sense of control within a geographic area)
  • ASEAN and APAC integration drives competition and hence (verticals) organizations to scale, to regionalize
  • Expanding vertical business such as banks or telecommunication company, requires operational and technology excellence
  • Depending on businesses entry cost across the region still high:
  • Rules of incorporation and shareholder ship
  • Visa and Labour rules
  • Easier for large corporation
  • Languages / it’s not always about english! Why are there no similar institution like Goethe Institute and Alliance Francaise by asian countries? A Thai or Indonesian Institute for language and culture across the region…

Addressing organization readiness

Business Operations

  • Process and ongoing optimization, goal oriented
  • Better measurements and metrics
  • Data driven and flexible

Technology & Digitization

  • Often outsourcing but not innovation attitude
  • Innovation and continues evolvement
  • Adoption of Free and Open Source to drive internal tech skill and innovation

Human Resource Function

  • People development
  • Metrics setting / KPI
  • Fair renumeration — still huge gaps
  • Integration of ASEAN and other Foreigners

Generating regional and global structures

Opinions are my own!
aw@axelwinter.com — www.axelwinter.com

Generating regional and global structures

Opinions are my own!
aw@axelwinter.com — www.axelwinter.com