“The goal of ASEAN economic integration is to become a single production base where goods can be manufactured anywhere and distributed efficiently to anywhere within the region. ASEAN needs to work towards the goal of freer movement of labour and capital, but in reality, integration and the free flow of resources will only be gradual,step by step, sector by sector. For now, opinions are mixed on how far ASEAN countries have come in doing everything necessary to make the big first step.
Governments and the ASEAN secretariat feel that more than 80% of their goals have been achieved, but the private sector does not see evidence of much progress when it comes to making it easier to do business across borders. Then again, some businesses, especially smaller ones, have done little or nothing to prepare themselves.”
Rise of ASEAN – Gateway to ASEAN aseanrise.com