Asean businesses not ready for AEC, despite opportunities: survey

Singapore

BUSINESS leaders across South-east Asia believe that the Asean Economic Community (AEC) presents an opportunity for their business but less than a fifth of them have made plans and changes in anticipation of the common market that is meant to be realised by the end of 2015.

A Deloitte survey of 100 C-suite executives of major companies from different industries across South-east Asia, conducted in April, found that 96 per cent can see that business opportunities will spring from access to new markets (54 per cent), bigger markets (36 per cent) and lower costs (34 per cent).