Taiwan, ASEAN urged to team up on trade in services

TAIPEI - Taiwan and ASEAN should work together to develop policies that strengthen trade in services to diversify their sources of economic growth, and to reduce China's growing economic dominance, according to Kristy Hsu, Programme Director of the Chung-hua Institution for Economic Research's (CIER's) Taiwan ASEAN Studies Centre.

ASEAN member states should "seriously consider removing restrictions on investment in the service sector so as to invite more Taiwanese services providers to invest," Hsu said, pointing to the limited economic contribution services currently make in the region. Aside from Singapore (94%), the services to total gross domestic product ratio is relatively low in Malaysia (39%), Indonesia (32%), Thailand (43%), the Philippines (52%), Vietnam (34% and Taiwan (58%), she added, citing WTO statistics (ATI).