Asean continues to miss own targets for economic integration: business council

Rosy headline numbers mask underlying concerns, intra-Asean trade still lagging, warns EU-Asean Business Council

Published Sun, Mar 29, 2020 · 09:50 PM

UNDERNEATH rosy headline figures, Asean's foreign direct investment (FDI) numbers suggest cause for concern, as the region continues to miss its own targets for regional economic integration, and intra-Asean trade continues to lag, warns the EU-Asean Business Council in its latest report.

According to figures from the Asean Investment Report 2019, Asean attracted an all-time high inflow of FDI in 2018, the third consecutive year of rising investment. "FDI rose from US$147 billion in 2017…