Finalising FTAs will be an economic shot in the arm for S-E Asia

AS SOUTH-EAST Asia cautiously emerges from lockdowns, the policy focus is shifting from triage to kick-starting economies.

In its June forecast, the International Monetary Fund estimated that South-east Asia's five biggest economies will shrink by 2 per cent in 2020, which is better than the global average of minus 5 per cent, but it will still be a severe shock for a region that has experienced growth every year since the 1960s.

Rebuilding South-east Asia's growth engine will be a challenge. The region's Big Three trade sectors - commodities, electronics and textiles - all face economic uncertainty as demand stalls. And investment, which has historically been an important economic growth driver, is set to fall dramatically across South-east Asia, stunting the region's manufacturing growth.