Philippines stands to gain much from regional integration

Investors operating in Southeast Asia can expect a boost in their businesses as work toward the establishment of an Asean Community appears to have progressed well ahead of time.

The region hopes to complete the integration even before the target year of 2015.

UBS Securities said in a research note that the expected boom would benefit mostly those engaging in the financial markets of the five original members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including the Philippines.

“Financial markets stand to benefit from ongoing Asean integration through three broad channels, in our view,” UBS economist Edward Teather wrote.

Teather said the first is the benefit to Asean companies of a single economic community and, second, the potential increase in infrastructure within Asean members and across borders.

“Finally, we expect the potential economies of scale and reduced investment barriers (combined with healthy balance sheets in the Asean-5) to support cross-border mergers and acquisitions,” Teather said.

Asean-5 refers to the five original members: the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

“[T]he integration implied by the Asean Community [may open investment] opportunities in several areas,” Teather said.

A single economic community will create a single economic bloc with improved free movement in goods, services, investment and skilled labor, Teather said.

“As increased regional integration opens up the Asean economy to the world, income growth should be supported,” Teather added.