MANAMA: With an aggregate GDP of $2.3 trillion and population of 600 million, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) offers rare opportunities to investors.
This was the crux of a presentation organised by Bahrain-based investment advisory firm EMP Middle East tilted ASEAN Economies: Opportunities and Trends, under the patronage of Ambassador of Malaysia Ambassador Ahmad Shahizan Abd Samad at Regency Hotel.
The main speaker, Greg Barnes, CEO of RHB OSK Asset Management, one of the largest Malaysian Asset Management Housed, went through the demographic, economic and political climate of the ASEAN member states.
The event was attended by heads of prominent financial institutions, prominent industrialists and business men of Bahrain. Ambassador Shahizan said that Malaysia and Bahrain have been close allies since the establishment of the diplomatic ties.
He opined that ASEAN countries together have become a very critical economic block that cannot be ignored under current economic scenario.
He commented that with young population and growing economies within ASEAN countries, it is an ideal investment ground for Bahrain Investors and business men alike.
Greg Barnes, CEO of RHB OSK Asset Management, Singapore in his presentation discussed how the ASEAN countries were becoming a power house among Emerging Markets economies.
He highlighted the opportunities arising out of urbanization among ASEAN countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam etc and growing interest of large economies such as China and Japan in this region, which in turn is fueling growth in this important economic block. With 600 million population having majority young under the age of 30 years, ASEAN is poised for a long and sustained growth trajectory.
John Abraham, CEO of EMP Middle East, the organizer of the event, in his opening remarks said that sustainable and high growth rate expected in ASEAN countries are likely to continue to outperform most of the emerging markets in the coming years.
He said that ASEAN countries were one of the largest economic blocks among emerging market countries.
The Ambassador also highlighted the salient features of the promising economies of ASEAN region and shed a light how these economies were taking shape in 2014 and beyond.
He added that with high growth achieved by ASEAN economies in last couple of years, there is growing interest from many investors including Middle East investors to participate in various projects in ASEAN region. He stressed that the events such as this helps in long way to familiarize the regional investors on the opportunities that exist in these economies.
RHB – OSK is part of RHB Group, one of the largest financial service groups in Malaysia with assets of over $60billlion. The group is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and has over 17,000 employees.
EMP Middle East is a Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) regulated Investment Advisory Firm. The firm is head quartered in Bahrain.
ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Brunei Darussalam then joined on 7 January 1984, Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999, making up what is today the ten Member States of ASEAN.