More ASEAN Cooperation Needed for Digital Economy

More cooperation between ASEAN regulators is needed for the region to fully benefit from the growth of the digital economy. While technology is inherently borderless, the regulation governing it is not. This can create challenges for global businesses operating global technology estates, said John Hsu, APAC chief information officer for HSBC. The best way to manage this is by governments, regulatory authorities and businesses working together through regional cooperation.

Southeast Asia’s digital economy was valued at $31 billion in 2015 and is projected to reach $200 billion by 2025, according to research by Google and Temasek, but HSBC notes that there are still issues to be addressed during the growth process such as data localization, cloud computing, AI and cybersecurity.

In a speech at the ASEAN-EU Business Summit in Bangkok, the bank outlined four recommendations to build an effective relationship between stakeholders.

Firstly, create holistic regulations for all companies irrespective of business model. Secondly, build activity-based regimes and avoid two-tier regulatory regimes to prevent arbitrage.

Thirdly, the bank highlights the need to regionally implement various digital economy initiatives including the ICT Masterplan 2020, the DIFAP, and the «Framework on Digital Data Governance» in order to strengthen «credibility as a production base of choice for global businesses. Finally, it also recommends global coordination wherever possible.

Policymakers should consider how they can create a coordinated regulatory regime where all sizes and types of companies are able to innovate at pace and regulators have sufficient oversight and enforcement capabilities, Hsu added.