Asean more important to EU businesses: survey

Singapore

EUROPEAN businesses in South-east Asia see Asean as a dynamic region with plenty of potential upsides in terms of profit growth and business prospects, but non-tariff barriers in the region emerged as the biggest bugbear, according to the 2017 EU-Asean Business Sentiment Survey.

More European businesses - 76 per cent in 2017 versus 66 per cent in 2016 - said a European Union-Asean free trade agreement (FTA) should be pursued now, while 55 per cent of respondents said the lack of such a deal puts European businesses at a disadvantage in the region.