Local SMEs seen able to compete in Asean

Philippine small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can compete in a regional marketplace and benefit from the creation of a single economic community within Southeast Asia by 2015, said top business leader Teresita T. Sy.

Sy, a member of the Asean Business Advisory Council and vice chair of SM Investments, said Friday that SMEs in the Philippine supply chain would benefit from closer economic integration in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

“These companies have been constrained by geographical and trade barriers for the longest time,” Sy said in a statement.

“With Asean integration, they have an opportunity to grow into regional players, including those in the supply chain industry,” she added.

This is amid some concerns that SMEs may be left out once the Asean Economic Community is established as the perception is that only the big players had sufficient preparation for regional integration.

The Asean BAC provides private-sector feedback to the Asean in promoting closer integration. The grouping, which includes 10 emerging economies, is in the second phase of an 18-year effort to achieve a balanced regional development in infrastructure, labor, technology, trade and tourism.

By 2015, the member-countries hope to complete physical transport and communication infrastructure such as roads, railways and air and sea links. This will boost the flow of goods and services within the region and result in increased economic interaction.

“We expect a more robust regional logistics industry,” said SM vice president for corporate governance and risk management Gil Gonzales, who sits in the Asean BAC committee. “SMEs can grow beyond national boundaries and these include Filipino companies.”

These enterprises can tap into some of the fastest-growing economies in Asia and benefit from increased market access to the four new members of Asean—Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

These four countries are the target of a region-wide initiative to close the so-called “national development gap” by bringing them up to speed with their faster-developing neighbors.