Cebuano exporter to represent SMEs in the ASEAN council

CEBU, Philippines - Cebuano entrepreneur and business leader Jay Yuvallos was recently appointed as the country’s representative to the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nation) Business Advisory Council representing the Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs).

Yuvallos, who owns several businesses, including a furniture export company, will be working closely with PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, and SM’s Teresita Sy.

The ASEAN Business Council has recently been formalized in order to fast tract the bid of making ASEAN as one economic community, attracting the rest of the world to take advantage of the over 600 million market-base.

In an interview with Yuvallos, he said that one of the priorities of the group is to strengthen the integration between ASEAN member countries, and that for the Philippines connectivity to the region is the top priority.

“We are separated from other ASEAN member countries. A RoRo [Roll-on-Roll-off] network that will connect the Philippines to the mainland, is now being studied,” said Yuvallos.

As an SME representative to the council, Yuvallos said his role is to raise SME awareness in tapping the ASEAN market, and understand its potential that having a one ASEAN community dictates viability of links and boost investments.

“The ASEAN is a huge market in itself. With GDP of $US1.4 trillion and 600 million population, it is a strong market base,” he said.

He emphasized that exporters for instance, should start to make aggressive move to tap the ASEAN market, although some of the member countries are producing similar products the Philippines is producing.

“While a lot of exporters hoping to target the United States, and European markets, there is a good and profitable market close us,” said Yuvallos, who was also the former president of the PhilExport-Cebu.

According to Yuvallos, the ASEAN market is more reachable and SMEs should know the different free trade agreements between the Philippines, and the ASEAN member countries.

Instead of looking some countries in the ASEAN as competition, like Indonesia, Yuvallos said one of the objectives of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council is to promote “coopetition.”

“We seem to be competing with each other. But, by 2015 when the integration will be properly set-up, the ASEAN will become a single market and one production base,” he stressed.

By then, he said ASEAN will be one strong brand, and will be more attractive to the rest of the world.

On the other hand, when asked about the proposal for a single currency in the ASEAN region, Yuvallos said this particular plan would take long as there is a huge disparity of economic developments among member countries.

ASEAN member countries include; Brunei Darussalem, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. (FREEMAN)