00:00Trade, high-tech production, digitalization.
00:05These are the building blocks of a value-driven economy.
00:10And this is what ASEAN's latest economic push is about.
00:14Faster trade, building its own chip industry,
00:17and doubling its digital economy,
00:19all within the next five years.
00:21Earlier this year at the ASEAN Economic Minister's retreat,
00:3218 priority economic deliverables were adopted to drive these goals.
00:37Here are the highlights.
00:39First up, the upgrade of ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, or ATIGA.
00:44This is the backbone of regional trade,
00:47the rulebook that governs how goods move seamlessly across Southeast Asia.
00:52The upgrade introduces forward-looking provisions on remanufactured goods,
00:57green trade, and even trade in humanitarian crisis situations.
01:02The aim is clear,
01:05to keep ASEAN's supply chains resilient and efficient under any circumstances,
01:10and to make ASEAN more integrated, sustainable,
01:13and future-ready in navigating global trade challenges.
01:16Next, the Digital Economy Framework Agreement.
01:21This is a first-of-its-kind pact across ASEAN,
01:25which boldly promises to double the region's digital economy to $2 trillion by 2030.
01:31How? By creating a single digital rulebook,
01:35from payments and e-commerce to data privacy,
01:38identity systems, and even AI regulation.
01:41Crucially, it's designed to bring small businesses into the fold,
01:46not just the big players.
01:48In practice, that means a company can scale across ASEAN without navigating 11 different sets of rules.
01:56On to semiconductors.
01:58ASEAN is aiming to become a serious player in chips,
02:02which power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles to AI.
02:07But supply chains today are fragile, concentrated in just a few countries.
02:12We saw the consequences during the pandemic.
02:15Factories stalled.
02:16Car production froze.
02:18Prices spiked.
02:19That's why ASEAN is rolling out the ASEAN framework for an integrated semiconductor supply chain.
02:25Six countries, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia,
02:32already have the capacity to anchor it.
02:35Others can contribute minerals, assembly, or industrial clusters.
02:39The idea is simple.
02:41Stitch these strengths together into a coordinated regional supply chain.
02:46ASEAN has also upgraded trade with China through the ASEAN-China FTA 3.0 Upgrade Protocol.
02:55China is ASEAN's largest trading partner, with two-way trade topping US$772 billion in 2024.
03:04The ASEAN-China FTA 3.0 aims to enhance economic cooperation through new areas such as the digital economy,
03:11green economy, supply chain resilience, competition, and consumer protection,
03:16and support for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
03:20Next, we have the block's first electric vehicle roadmap.
03:25The priorities are clear.
03:27Building charging infrastructure, unlocking finance,
03:31and setting up a regional coordinating mechanism.
03:34In short, it's about laying the foundation for a region-wide EV ecosystem.
03:40Other deliverables are also moving forward,
03:44from a minerals development vision to regional energy cooperation and instant payment connectivity.
03:51So, what does all this mean?
03:53If ASEAN can deliver, it won't just be catching up with global trends.
03:58It could place the region at the forefront of digital trade, semiconductors, and clean tech,
04:04and make ASEAN the fourth-largest economic bloc by 2030.
04:08That's our shoppiece FMT.
04:11That's our shoppiece FMT.
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