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The 2018 EU-ASEAN Business Sentiment Survey presents a business overview of European businesses across ASEAN in 2018.

European businesses continue to have a very positive outlook in Southeast Asia and expect to see ASEAN profits increase, according to the fourth annual EU-ASEAN Business Sentiment Survey, which polled more than 330 executives from European companies around Southeast Asia. Some of the key findings from this year’s survey, which is the fourth that the EU-ABC has done, include:

  • 99% of European businesses expect to maintain or expand their trade and investment in ASEAN over the next 5 years and almost three-quarters (72%) expect their ASEAN profits to increase in 2018.
  • More than half (51%) see ASEAN as the region with greatest economic potential double the number who cited the second place region (China)
  • 86% of them expecting their level of trade & investment in ASEAN to increase over the next five years. However, only one in ten (12%) believe that ASEAN has achieved its aim of becoming a single market and production base, with more than half (54%) believing the pace of ASEAN economic integration is too slow, and nearly seven out of ten (67%), a significant rise over 2017, believing that there are too many barriers to the efficient use of regional supply chains.
  • 98% believe that the EU should accelerate the negotiation of FTAs with the ASEAN region, and close to three-quarters (73%) believe that European Companies are at competitive disadvantage without and EU-ASEAN FTA.
  • European businesses also appear to have increased concerns about the level of anti-competitive behaviour in their response locations with six out of ten (62%) reporting that they often or sometimes face unfair competitive practices (up from 48% in 2017).

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