Why is ASEAN so underrated by many consumer brands? by April Lam

ASEAN is composed of 10 countries with a total population size of 678 billion (statistics as of Dec 2021), and with a huge social disparity across most countries except Singapore, ASEAN projects a strong image of low economic potential and sluggish purchasing power by many non-ASEAN business owners. The legal and custom side of the region isn’t particularly appealing neither that foreign companies are always deterred from entering this part of the world because of the complexity and costly administration comparing with developed markets. Language & culture then adds another layer of barrier that there isn’t a common way of communications and thus on-the-ground support is highly critical for business success. These shouldn’t stop businesses from entering ASEAN though and I am going to tell you why in the next articles.