Malaysia’s Najib: Asean seen growing to 4th-largest economy

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, right, is greeted by Philippine Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Jesus Dureza, as he arrives at Manila’s international airport, Philippines on Thursday, April 27, 2017. Razak is in the country to attend the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders’ Summit which the Philippines is hosting this weekend. AP PHOTO

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak says Southeast Asia’s 10-member grouping could comprise the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2030, but countries must work to ensure integration, bring down rising tariff barriers and expand e-commerce to benefit small enterprises that form the region’s economic backbone.

He said at a business forum Friday on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders’ summit that Asean economies are expected to grow to $9.2 trillion by 2050, making it the fourth-largest economy in the world. He says more optimistic forecasts see that happening by 2030.

He says as of November 2015, the region’s economy was close to $2.7 trillion, the world’s seventh-largest.