IMF: ASEAN Ready for Economic Liberalization
22 August 2014 13:42 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Solo - Wimboh Santoso, Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said that countries in Southeast Asia who are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are considered qualified to face economic liberalization. Indonesia, as the country with the largest population in ASEAN, claimed to be the most competitive country.
During the 21st ASEAN High Level Conference, ASEAN heads of state agreed that the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will start to commence on December 31, 2014, earlier than the previously agreed mid-2015 timeline.
Wimbon said that ASEAN's readiness in facing economic liberalization can be seen from the economic growth in the region. "The average economic growth in ASEAN reaches an average of 5 percent," he said yesterday. The number is far better than countries in other regions such as Europe. Currently, economic growth of European countries average at 3 to 4 percent annually. “This caused the world to choose ASEAN as their model to face the economic liberalization,” said Wimboh.
One of the countries in ASEAN that has entered the spotlight is Indonesia. In addition to the high number of population, Indonesia also has the largest amount of natural resources compared to other ASEAN countries. Although the country will be the primary target for marketing foreign products, Wimboh was optimistic that Indonesian domestic products can compete and even penetrate the export market.
Berly Martawadaya, an economist from the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), said that there are six issues needs immediate attention as Indonesia became a part of the AEC at the end of this year: the dominance of foreign professionals, the large number of foreign companies, less competitive domestic manpower, high level of import, poverty, high rate of inequality, and unprepared government bureaucracy.
AHMAD RAFIQ | YOLANDA RYAN ARMINDYA