UOB’s FDI advisory unit garners more than RM83 bln of business flows into the region

KUALA LUMPUR: United Overseas Bank’s ( UOB) ability to connect its corporate clients to business and investment opportunities in Southeast Asia has attracted more than RM83 billion into the region in 2016, double the amount in 2015.

The bank’s Foreign Direct Investment ( FDI) Advisory Unit has been at the forefront of helping UOB’s clients to seize opportunities in Southeast Asia, it said a statement yesterday.

“Data from the FDI Advisory Unit showed that the top investment destinations from global and Asian companies investing in the region in 2016 were Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Singapore,” it said.

The data also revealed that companies expanding into the region were more likely to be from the fast-moving consumer goods, natural resources and building and constructionrelated sectors that are tapping on Southeast Asia’s growth potential.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) advisory unit managing director, Sam Cheong, said Southeast Asia is an attractive investment destination due to the opportunities that the region’s rapid urbanisation, major infrastructure projects, rising incomes and increasing consumption create.

Cheong who is also the group head said the potential of a more integrated region through the Asean Economic Community is also proving attractive to those companies establishing their presence in our region.

The potential economic growth of Asean is huge, he said, and according to UOB’s estimates, the combined gross domestic product of the countries that make up Asean will expand from the current RM10.8 trilllion to RM35.1 trillion by 2030.

“This will make Asean the fourth largest economy in the world by 2030,” said Cheong.

While the long-term outlook for ASEAN is positive, Cheong said that there were distinct challenges when investing in the region, such as the region’s cultural diversity, can be challenging for companies seeking to enter new markets.

“Each market has its own business and cultural practices that must be understood to ensure business success,” Cheong said. — Bernama