Tapping vast business opportunities in S-E Asia

Singapore

THE statistics show that South-east Asia - a bustling region of about 650 million people - is brimming with business potential and expansion opportunities for both Singapore and global companies.

There are 10 member states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) grouping - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Their combined GDP stood at US$2.76 trillion in 2016. Growing at a rate of 4.7 per cent, Asean's GDP is significantly higher than any other global region and translates to a per capita metric of US$4,308.

Asean is one of the youngest and fastest growing economic powerhouses in the world today. As a single entity, it is one of the world's top five economies - behind the United States, the European Union, China an…