Asia has transformed from being solely the world’s production hub into an important centre for consumer demand. It is home to some of the world’s largest trading hubs such as China, Japan, and Australia, and to dynamic regional markets like India, Vietnam, and Indonesia, that have enabled it to contribute to 41% of global trade flows in 2020, of which three-quarters is Intra-Asia trade. The future of Asia is Asia, and it is critical to identify key risks and opportunities that surround this economic megatrend to power Asia’s next phase of economic development.
Access Partnership’s Economics Strategy team is proud to have supported UPS develop the “Clearing the Runway for Intra-Asia Trade” report in 2022 that quantifies the intra-regional opportunity with a view to 2030. The report covers 12 major markets, dubbed the “Asia-12”: Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. It spans four major segments: retail, industrial manufacturing and automotive, high-tech, and healthcare. It also leverages an exclusive trade industry survey of 198 businesses across these markets.
The report’s major finding is that cross-border regional trade in Asia could double in value from 2020 to $13.5 trillion by 2030 under the right conditions, but also faces significant headwinds that could compel trade to stagnate by 2030 if not managed proactively.
Governments have a significant role to play in smoothing barriers to greater trade to help unlock the underlying economic opportunity, for instance by negotiating comprehensive trade details, harmonising product standards, improving logistics infrastructure and skills, and building supply chain resilience. Businesses can prepare effectively for both eventualities by capitalising on high-value and high-growth trade lanes, diversifying to stable trade lanes, digitising comprehensively, and engaging governments.
To learn more, visit the UPS landing page for this study here and please download the full report here.
Access Partnership also supported UPS market teams in preparing regional summaries, which may be accessed in the links below:
- China Mainland – Available in Englishand Simplified Chinese
- Hong Kong – Available in Englishand Traditional Chinese
- Japan – Available in Englishand Japanese
- Malaysia – Available in English
- Philippines – Available in English
- Singapore – Available in English
- South Korea – Available in Englishand Korean
- Taiwan – Available in Englishand Traditional Chinese
- Thailand – Available in Englishand Thai
- Vietnam – Available in Englishand Vietnamese
- Download the summary for the four key industry segments here.
