Asia Regional Integration Center

Unlike many other large economies, Indonesia has been able to ride out the recent global financial crisis with relatively few problems. This is particularly remarkable given that Indonesia is an open economy.

As the global economy has shifted over the past decade, emerging economies are faced with novel opportunities and challenges stemming from their newfound leadership.

When the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) comes into being, Indonesia is in a position to reap important economic gains. Following its recovery from the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, its economy has been growing at an average of more than 5%.

According to a recent ADB survey, trade finance shortfalls in developing Asia caused companies to miss out on nearly $425 billion in commercial opportunities.

The defining feature of early 21st-century international trade is global value chains (GVCs). Trade in GVCs is the fastest growing part of international trade, and a critical driver of productivity, growth and employment in both developed and developing countries.

One of the striking features of trade diplomacy in recent years has been the seemingly unstoppable march of preferential trade liberalization and rule-making.

South Asia is the only developing region where foreign direct investment (FDI) has had a negative impact on export prices, measured by terms of trade. Recent research has shown that in most emerging and developing countries FDI generally improves terms of trade.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is billing a global agreement on trade facilitation as the central issue for the upcoming Bali Ministerial in December.

In recent years, and particularly following its accession to the WTO in February, foreign investors have turned their attention to Lao PDR.

The fortunes of Asia's developing countries can swing wildly. Frontier economies like Myanmar and Mongolia were deserted by investors just a decade ago.