ASEAN: Regional Trends in Economic Integration, Export ... - USITC

within Thailand that may be part of an international shipment. 117 Service providers
expressed confusion about the rules in the Philippines. While foreign participation in
logistics services is capped at 40 percent, the service providers reported that the
Philippine Department of Justice had ruled the limit nonapplicable to air freight
forwarders. However, when one express delivery firm applied for a license, it was told
that the application would have to be reviewed in court, where delays of several years are
common. 118
Indonesia’s 2009 Postal Law defines all logistics services as “postal services” and
reserves these activities for Indonesians. 119 The law allows foreign firms to offer services
in collaboration with domestic partners in “province[s] or capital[s] with an international
airport and/or harbour only.” 120 The law does not preserve the distinctions made in the
ASEAN logistics sector’s Roadmap between postal services and other logistics services
and ignores the liberalization commitments in the AEC Blueprint. 121
Malaysia has long required that a certain percentage of companies’ ownership shares be
reserved for bumiputera (indigenous Malays) in various industries. In April 2009, the
government removed those requirements for 27 service industries, including several
logistics services (e.g., road freight transport and maritime agency services). 122 However,
3PL industry representatives said that the requirement for majority bumiputera ownership
of customs brokerages, which was not eliminated, prevents some firms from offering
their standard services. 123
Vietnam and Cambodia liberalized many logistics services as part of their World Trade
Organization (WTO) accession commitments. In Vietnam, foreign ownership for express
delivery firms is presently capped at 51 percent; the cap is to be lifted entirely in 2012.
Road freight transport opened to majority (51 percent) foreign ownership in 2010,
although Vietnam reserved the right to screen investments using “economic needs
tests.” 124 Cambodia’s WTO accession package included commitments not to restrict
foreign ownership for road freight transport and courier services (generally understood to
include express delivery). 125
The Commission did not find evidence of notable foreign ownership restrictions on
logistics services in Brunei or Singapore. The latter is recognized as one of the most open
markets for logistics services in the East Asia and Pacific region. 126 Limited information
was available for restrictions in Laos and Burma. One industry source noted that full
117 Conference of Asia Pacific Express Carriers (CAPEC), “Express Delivery Services (EDS): ASEAN
Regulatory Matrix and International Best Practices,” May 2009.
118 Industry representatives, interview by USITC staff, Singapore, March 4, 2010.
119 Republic of Indonesia, Law Number 38 of 2009 regarding Postal Services, Article 4.
120 Ibid., Article 12.
121 ASEAN, “Roadmap for the Integration of Logistics Services,” August 24, 2007; Law of the Republic
of Indonesia 38/2009 Regarding Postal Services; industry representative, interview by USITC staff,
Singapore, March 4, 2010.
122 Prime Minister’s Office of Malaysia, “Liberalisation of the Services Sector,” April 22, 2009, 4–5.
123 Industry representatives, interview by USITC staff, Singapore, March 4, 2010.
124 WTO, “Working Party on the Accession of Viet Nam,” October 27, 2006, 19 and 50.
125 WTO, “Report of the Working Party,” August 19, 2003, 9 and 22. Unlike Vietnam, Cambodia did not
explicitly state that its commitments in courier services covered express delivery. Industry representatives
consulted for this report did not cite concerns about this lack of specificity and made no mention of barriers
to foreign investment in express delivery services in Cambodia.
126 Hollweg and Wong, “Measuring Regulatory Restrictions in Logistics Services,” May 2009, 21.
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