What is ASEAN’s potential?

ASEAN represents a market of around 600 million people, with a combined GDP of around US$1.8 trillion. The OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development) has projected growth within ASEAN to be about 6% per year for the period 2011-15, making it the second fastest growing region globally after China. Because of that, and ASEAN’s developing wealth and trade opportunities, China has specifically targeted ASEAN as a bloc with which Chinese companies need to be doing business. ASEAN represents a fast growing opportunity for growth in sales and trade. In 2011, ASEAN overtook Japan as the third-largest trade partner with China (trade figures reaching US$362.3 billion.