ASEAN: Will the Puzzle Pieces Fit?

The latest edition of Asian-MENA Counsel features a story on the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which is due to be in place by the end of this year. There is much debate surrounding the implementation of the AEC and whether the region's 10 jurisdictions can come together to create a global economic powerhouse. Asian-MENA Counsel looks at issues with the integration and potential teething problems and opportunities.

As part of its cover story on ASEAN and the AEC, Asian-MENA Counsel spoke with one of the founding partners of SSEK Indonesian Legal Consultants, Ira A. Eddymurthy.

Ira touched on ASEAN's Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) and said that skilled workers would likely gravitate toward states that are centers for their occupation, where their expertise will be highly valued. However, it is unlikely that states, including Indonesia, will be quick to ease restrictions on expatriate workers, noting the reservations toward employment matters in the ratification of the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement and the extent of states' commitments in the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services.

She also noted that the manufacturing sector is likely to be a big winner in Indonesia because foreign investors are seeing ASEAN as a regionally integrated manufacturing base offering an abundance of raw materials, low labor costs and freer movement of goods.

Asian-MENA Counsel is the magazine of the In-House Community, which brings together more than 21,000 individual in-house lawyers and those with a responsibility for legal and compliance issues within an organization in the Asia-Pacific and the UAE.

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