At its inception in 1967, there were doubts that Asean could last more than three years given the challenges prevailing at the time. There is a very deep culture of pragmatism developed among the Asean countries," said Dr Mahbubani, citing the Asean free-trade area as an example. While there is hope for more political and social harmony, optimism for improved economic growth prevails, mainly due to the export recovery among Asean countries, said John Chong, CEO of Maybank Kim Eng Group. "We need to step up to be Asean multinationals in a sense that we need to do business not just in our home countries, but also in countries within Asean." Mr Chong has seen large corporate entities from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines expanding into other regional countries and doing business with fellow Asean companies.

Source: Bangkok Post April 17, 2017 06:56 UTC