European businesses are planning to expand their investment and operations in the ASEAN region but want to see more trade deals between the two regions according to a recent survey that polled 200 executives from European countries in the region.
The latest annual EU-ASEAN business sentiment survey, finds that 74% of European businesses project a rise in ASEAN profits for 2016 and expect the region’s importance to global revenues to increase over the next five years.
As a result, two thirds plan to expand operations and employment in the region while 85% are planning to increase their regional trade and investment.
Businesses in the region say they are keen to see strengthened ties between the EU and ASEAN with 66% of them expressing interest in a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two regions. Over half the respondents say they feel they are at a competitive disadvantage without an FTA.