China growth, and Asean

I just found some interesting statistic that indicate the growing regional integration in Asia - The New Straits Times (Malaysia) reports that exports from ASEAN countries to China grew rapidly in 2003:

Philippines = 58%
Thailand = 55%
Singapore = 41%
Indonesia = 30%
Malaysia = 22%

We have to say that there are some dangers here. China needs a lot of commodity products to fuel its expansion. Al the countries above, on the other hand, struggle to compete with China for their traditional markets, such as the US or Europe. In order to compete with China for markets in the future, ASEAN markets need to upgrade their economies, climb the value added ladder. What we are worried about is that those growth numbers might put companies in a nice slumber - and that they will wake up rudely in a couple of years time and forgot to undertake necessary steps to bolster their economic business foundations.

(By Asia Business Consulting)