Singapore calls for deepened ASEAN digital connectivity

Illustrative photo - Photo: ASEAN SAS

Addressing the recent Digitise ASEAN Conference in Singapore, S Iswaran said in ASEAN, some estimate that the digital economy has the potential to grow to US$200 billion by 2025, with e-commerce alone accounting for US$88 billion.

A survey conducted by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) on ASEAN outlook in 2017-2018 showed that most of the questioned enterprises affirmed ASEAN as an important market in their business expansion strategies in 2018 and 2019.

They said they would prioritize Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar to expand their business activities in 2018-2020.

S Iswaran said ASEAN must first address the challenges posed by the digital economy, while handling issues that constrain businesses’ ability to participate in the digital economy, including policies relating to data flows and localisation, intellectual property, cyber security, and digital trade facilitation.

As the ASEAN Chair in 2018, Singapore is working with other ASEAN member states on specific initiatives such as the ASEAN Agreement on e-Commerce that advances trade rules in e-commerce, lowers businesses’ operating barriers to entry, and builds up greater digital connectivity, to facilitate e-commerce flows in the region.

This will provide a platform for aspiring entrepreneurs, start-ups and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to market their products and services regionally, he said.

The minister highlighted three areas of opportunity for ASEAN businesses, comprising business-to-consumer or B2C through e-commerce platforms; supporting services such as payments, insurance, logistics, fraud detection, marketing and customer service; and infrastructure like e-commerce and data centers.