Fast Track to Regionalization and Internationalization

Abstract

Financial and economic market integration with neighbors are hallmarks of sound development strategies. However, regional competition within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries blocks the latter change from transpiring, specifically because foreign and domestic politics are conflicting in member nations. Such discord encountered by policymakers strains regional development and impedes long-term growth of the world’s most populous trading bloc. Even as Southeast Asian countries have been regarded as development miracles, much is left to be desired: the number of intra-ASEAN financial transactions, in the form of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), remains low (Chakravarty and Ghee, 2012); poor coordination between fiscal and monetary policy that may cause buildup of risks when coupled with high capital inflows (Balakrishnan et al., 2012); and stifled region-wide trade continues through increased dependence on Chinese manufactured products (Kalra, 2010). By both fostering growth and regional stability, opened financial markets will stabilize cross-border partnerships by dislodging domestic interest groups and shifting regional concerns to region-wide growth vis-à-vis other trading blocks.