The projection was reinforced by regional trade, which rose to $3.5 trillion in 2023 from $2.3 trillion in 2015, he told a conference in Kuala Lumpur.

The ‘Vision 2024: Age of ASEAN” conference was jointly organised by Malaysia’s ministry of investment, trade and industry (MITI), the ASEAN Business Advisory Council and the Boston Consulting Group.

ASEAN is one of the few regions in the world where the bloc’s trade is almost as large as its GDP, he noted. The biggest component of trade is not its trade with China or the United States, but intra-Asian trade worth around $800 trillion.

In the Global South, ASEAN is the largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI), totalling about $230 billion now, he was cited as saying by regional media reports.

Global supply chain of companies with low carbon footprints and high-value activities is more likely to be in ASEAN countries in future, he said.

But a marginal rise in ageing workers and a fall in the number of young workers in the bloc is a concern, he added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)