AEC vision some way from being realised
McKinsey's Asia chairman says progress towards a single market depends on whether Asean businesses are willing to devote resources to it
Singapore
THE vision of an Asean Economic Community (AEC) by end-2015 is some way off from being realised, with many sectors still far from integrated today.
But McKinsey & Company's chairman of Asia Kevin Sneader has said there is much gain to be reaped from fuller integration for sectors such as health care and financial services, and that progress hinges on whether Asean business leaders will devote resources to this.
Speaking at the recent Singapore Business Leaders Programme organised by the Human Capital Leadership Institute, he noted that intra-Asean trade constituted 24 per cent of total goods trade in the region in 2012 - low compared to other trading blocs. The intra-regional trade of the European Union (EU) makes up 59 per cent of total goods trade, while trade between the members of the North Americ…
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