Four Asean nations ready for AEC

Representatives from 4 Asean nations - Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Indonesia - vowed that rules and regulations are being improved to embrace an investment flow in light of the activation of the Asean Economic Community in 2015.

At the Krungthep Turakij seminar on "AEC Plus: Your Busines sto the New Frontier" yesterday, the representatives said that they welcome investment from neighbouring countries should these benefit local workers and be friendly to the environment.

Ros Sao, Commercial Counsellor, Royal Embassy of Cambodia, said at the seminar that his country is ready for the AEC, through a series of training courses to prepare its people for the integration. He said that the legal framework and infrastructure has been improved, and Cambodia stands ready to answer all questions from its neighbours.

Ade Veronica Christie, Third Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Bangkok, noted that her country is not 100 per cent ready for the integration, but Indonesia has done its best to ensure that investors and Indonesian people would gain equal benefits from greater investment.

Indonesia has amended the tax code, lowering levy on some types of investment to zero per cent. An online one-stop service centre is prepared to facilitate applications and reduce complication and fees. The government has also identified areas for particular investment, like the Sumatras for energy resources and Java for industrial manufacturing.

Indonesia has abundant natural resources, but labour wage is lower than that of some countries in Asean. With the economic growth rate of 6 per cent per annum, Indonesia is in the position to draw more investment and that encourages the country to prepare for the integration, she added.