AEC opens up many opportunities for investors

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has proposed a plan to establish the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) before the end of 2015, which, according to Mr. Lee, will bring many opportunities to both member countries and foreign investors, and help regional businesses expand overseas markets.

The manufacturing industry of member countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam can access the entire ASEAN market and gain new opportunities. As for Singapore, AEC will help promote the financial and service sectors of the "Lion island nation".

Ahead of the ASEAN Summit taking place from November 18 to 22 in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Mr. Lee noted that the AEC may face major challenges when the level of economic and social development of countries in the region is uneven. However, regular exchange of information and interaction between member countries will help eliminate those difficulties.

While according to some Cambodian scholars, the ASEAN Economic Community - expected to officially form at the end of this year - will help increase ASEAN's influence on the 'global stage'. Mr. Chheang Vannarith, President of the Cambodia Institute of Strategic Studies and a university lecturer, said that ASEAN will play a more important role in maintaining peace and stability, as well as promoting the development of the regional community in East Asia.

According to Mr. Vannarith, ASEAN countries will benefit from efforts to realize AEC with more developed economies benefiting more from regional integration.

However, some member countries still seem not ready for AEC because they are facing challenges such as delays in reforming national laws and regulations to suit the ASEAN program, people's inactive participation, and the problem of differences in development levels among member countries...

ASEAN plans to establish the ASEAN Economic Community on December 31, which means there will be a free flow of goods, services, investment, capital and skilled labor within the bloc.

In addition, the formation of the ASEAN Community will also bring many opportunities for the tourism industry to accelerate in the context that the 'smokeless industry' is becoming a spearhead for economic development in many ASEAN countries, due to its many strengths in natural beauty and diverse culture.

Mey Kalyan - senior advisor of the Supreme National Economic Council in Phnom Penh - said that the AEC will open a regional market of 600 million people for products from Cambodia and regional countries to penetrate, instead of only 15 million people (Cambodia's current population).

However, poorer countries like Cambodia need support in areas such as infrastructure, human resource development, knowledge and technology transfer and institution building