Asean must 'assert itself' globally

Mark Konyn, chief executive officer of Cathay Conning Asset Management, told the Brunei Times in an interview on the sidelines of the 9th Annual Brunei Darussalam Roundtable 2013 that the region has gone through “a period of incredible resurgence” after the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, and that it has been playing second fiddle to more industrialised economies in Asia-Pacific, which managed to attract the majority of the capital.

“What we’ve seen post financial crisis is that [Asean] has the ability to pick up listed companies that were priced attractively, trading on lower valuations and people have forgotten about opportunity for economic growth elsewhere in the region, so I think that resurgence has played out very well,” he said

Konyn said that with the credit rating upgrades in the region, investors have seen a large issuance in the hard currency bond markets, which have also helped to develop the depth of the Asean markets and the infrastructure.

It is now a question of whether policies will be put in place to take advantage of the “big steps” that have already occurred, he added.

Konyn said that the move of the region to form an integrated economic community by 2015 is “interesting”.

He added that conversation in the region has now started to revolve around the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

“I think Asean is a strong voice within the global community,” he said.

Noting that 60 per cent of the region’s economy is trade-dependent, Konyn also said that “trade friction” is starting to play out. “I think Asean’s position in this will have to be properly managed to make sure it doesn’t get sucked into that type of situation.”

He said that Asean would also have a role to play in China’s investment environment, as the country will require access to natural resources. “We know that they are quite acquisitive in making sure they have sufficient resources to fuel their economy,” he said.