ASEAN becomes first region to have e-commerce agreement

By Iqbal Musyaffa and Maria Hospita

SINGAPORE

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) became the first region in the world to have an e-commerce agreement.

The agreement was signed by the 10 member countries during the ASEAN Summit in Singapore on Monday.

Singaporean Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said the agreement was finalized after nine rounds of negotiations which started in June 2017.

The e-commerce agreement has three main goals, the first being the facilitation of cross-border e-commerce transactions between ASEAN countries.

"It also aims to create an environment of trust and confidence in the use of e-commerce," said Chan.

The third goal is to deepen cooperation among ASEAN member countries so the use of e-commerce will increase economic growth in the region.

"This agreement will also encourage paperless trading between businessmen and government that can produce more rapid and efficient transactions in ASEAN," he added.

As a result, businesses in ASEAN can get access and move data across the borders more easily.

According to Chan, ASEAN has taken steps to promote better consumer and personal data protection through the online dispute resolution mechanisms.

This agreement is considered crucial as Southeast Asia is the fastest-growing internet markets -- with roughly 330 million internet users.

The minister said ASEAN’s internet economy was expected to hit $200 billion by 2025. While the e-commerce growth is set to reach $88 billion in the same year.

Chan noted that the high economic potential of the internet was driven by the young and digitally-savvy population.

On top of that, Southeast Asia has seen the rise of ASEAN-based e-commerce such as Lazada in Singapore and Tokopedia in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita told Anadolu Agency that the existence of this agreement was an opportunity for Indonesian products to enter the Southeast Asian market through e-commerce channels.