The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is accelerating its economic development to the point of taking the place of China as an emerging market, home to attractive manufacturing bases and consumer markets.
The Hyundai Research Institute said on April 21 that the ratio of ASEAN’s GDP to the global GDP increased from 1.9 percent to 3.2 percent between 2000 and 2014.
According to the institute, ASEAN’s economic growth rate added up to 4.7 percent in 2013, much higher than the global average of 2.2 percent, although lower than China’s 7.7 percent. Also, the ASEAN accounted for 6.7 percent of the global trade volume in 2013.
The foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow into the 10 ASEAN member countries increased 14.1 percent on an annual average basis after 2000, and the total FDI into the countries reached US$125.4 billion in 2013, which was equivalent to 8.6 percent of the global total. The FDI in China was US$123.9 billion that year.
At present, the ASEAN is the second-largest export destination for Korea. The ratio of Korea’s exports to the region to its total exports went up from 9.5 percent to 14.8 percent between 2004 and 2014, when 12.3 percent, 5.6 percent and 25.4 percent of its exports went to the United States, Japan, and China, respectively.