Page 11 - ASEAN BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT SUMMIT 2019

ASEAN Business & Investment Summit 2019 11

Message from

Chairman

The Thai Bankers’ Association

2019 marks a major milestone for Thailand as it assumes the Chairmanship of
ASEAN. With a combined GDP of US$2.9 trillion and population of 648 million in 2018,
the surging ASEAN has become one of the most dynamic economies of the world today.
Economic collaboration and integration will maintain that stance and perhaps even take the
prominence of ASEAN to the next level. It is imperative to build an ASEAN Community that
connects seamlessly, such that the region’s comparative advantages are leveraged to the
fullest.
Across the globe, we are now accelerating into the frontier of the digital transformation
era. This digitalization will continue to bring about new opportunities while imposing risks
that we must comprehend and monitor, such as cyber-attacks, violations of data privacy,
and disrupted operations. In the banking and finance perspectives, ASEAN economies
have become more connected through regional initiatives. Atop the list of priorities is
establishment of financing channels for MSMEs through building credit infrastructure
and ecosystem, enabling information-based lending and financing alternatives such as
crowdfunding and P2P.
Digital payment connectivity has been developed from the standard e-payment
in the form of mobile banking services into the Interoperable QR Code scheme for cross-
border settlements, substantially driving up e-payment volume and effectively boosting
cross- border trade flows. Provided that ASEAN QR codes are interoperable, the benefits of
fostering pervasive financial inclusion, cross-border trade volume, and an accessible global
value chain will be extensive. However, with varying degrees of infrastructure readiness, and
differing rules and regulations, the diverse standards may well be acceptable should they be
interoperable.
Building Seamless Digital Trade Connectivity is an initiative to transform the end-to-
end paper-based processes to digital end-to-end flows by building National Digital Trade
Platforms and connecting to the ASEAN Digital Trade Connect. Enabling digital trade and
international data flows will be supportive of trade supply chains, e-commerce and MSME
border trade volume through an agreement on interoperability and cross-border protocols
and standards.