SM's Sy-Coson on embracing ASEAN integration: If we can't beat them, join them

 

Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as large business should level up to compete in an integrated market covering the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said Teresita Sy-Coson, vice chairperson of SM Investments Corp.

"Whether we like it or not, foreign items are coming, foreign investments are coming in. So if we can't beat them, join them," Sy-Coson said during a press conference Friday for the upcoming ASEAN Business and Investment Summit.

"The other thing is we all have to be very innovative," she said.

The ASEAN Economic Community established in 2015 is a milestone in regional economic integration, offering business opportunities within a single market worth an estimated $2.6 trillion with over 622 million people, according to the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The ongoing economic integration between ASEAN member-states should be embraced by local businesses, Sy-Coson noted.

"ASEAN is more of a shared economy and partnering. There's always threat ... there's always the positive and the negative, but you'll have to live throughout," she said. — VDS, GMA News