Asean economic integration, are you ready?

While attending last month’s seminar on the future of real estate practice in the Philippines, the reactions of real estate professionals were mixed when asked about how they feel about the much ballyhooed Asean economic integration. Some welcomed the idea, but most of them cold-heartedly received the news with dread and fear saying that the integration opens the practice of real estate selling to non-Filipinos (coming from the Asean region) and that we will be adding all the more the long list of real estate brokers who are broke because of the dog-eat-dog competition.

While integration allows non-Filipinos to practice their profession here, the opportunity is equally open to Filipinos who want to practice in Asean member-nations thereby broadening their markets in countries where their services are sought or needed. So if you’re among the real estate brokers who have yet to make a fortune here, who knows, you may be able to find your fortune in Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The regional integration is best appreciated not from just one side or from an agent’s perspective. In fact, brokers should be happier to see it happen because we will be seeing more and more Asean member businessmen doing business here. And definitely, they will be in need of real estate products. And since we know our country better, not to mention our deftness of the English language, we probably are the most to benefit from this convergence of nations. And for those who rather see this as a curse to their trade or profession, they better upgrade their skills or else end up whining and bitter for losing out in the business. The integration should be an opportunity to showcase our skills, and expertise. We should not be afraid to flaunt them because we have the best human resources to conquer the world. 

But what’s this integration all about, what’s there to look forward to, or are we trying to achieve? The Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) was initially formed in the post-war era, 1967, primarily as a regional political bloc to dissipate tension among neighbors because of the growing popularity of communism in the region. Then came in the 90s the idea of economic cooperation where member countries can freely trade goods with lower or no tariffs; then the idea of economic integration because of increase trade and the growth of the economies therein.

If  Asean were a single country, it would be the eighth richest country in the world with a GDP of more than $2 trillion as of  2011 alone.  Thus, the formation of  the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by which, the goal is to establish one regional economy by 2015. The AEC envisages the following key characteristics: “(a) a single market and production base, (b) a highly competitive economic region, (c) a region of equitable economic development, and (d) a region fully integrated into the global economy.

“The AEC areas of cooperation include human resources development and capacity building; recognition of professional qualifications; closer consultation on macroeconomic and financial policies; trade financing measures; enhanced infrastructure and communications connectivity; development of electronic transactions through e-ASEAN; integrating industries across the region to promote regional sourcing; and enhancing private sector involvement for the building of the AEC.”

In short, the AEC will transform ASEAN “into a region with free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labour, and freer flow of capital.” says its website.

Aside free exchange of human resource professionals from within the region, AEC envisions to leverage the power of a single economy for us to have a bigger say in economic policy-making in global economic communities such as in the World Trade Organization. If you recall, we have many times walked out of the discussions as bigger economies tend to be more selective on the goods coming from our side. 

But more than just free trade and as an economic bloc, integration means more business for Asean economies now that we have already established our purchasing power, and as a market itself. Arabs, Japanese, Americans and Europeans are expanding their businesses in the region not only to tap our human resource but also in joint explorations in energy, metals, as well as manufacturing. The integration also drives investors to put their money in the region due to the rising cost of doing business in China, its continued international disfavour for bullying and unwarranted territorial claims.

So to speak, we expect the growth of the region to be spurred further by the integration and the question is, are you ready?

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