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BUSINESS
four partner countries of the ASEAN Investment Forum.
BASF employs around 4,000 people in ASEAN, with an
annual turnover of almost EUR 2 billion. Dr. Frenzel also
listed the factors that will shape the chemical market in
ASEAN, namely the high urbanization rates throughout
the region, the young and growing demographics
as well as the average economic growth rate of 5% p.a.
At the end of her speech, Dr. Frenzel presented a few
examples of BASF operations in ASEAN. One of these
examples was their “Verbund Site” (highly integrated
chemical plant where several production sites are inter-connected)
in a Joint Venture with Petronas in Kuantan,
Malaysia, which produces chemicals for more than
600 customers in the Asia-Pacific region.
ASEAN Investment Promotion Agencies in Germany
The first panel of the event consisted of the four regional
directors of the investment promotion agencies of Malaysia,
the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand in Germany.
After short introductions and presentations from
each country, the panelists talked about the strengths
and focus areas of their countries. Additionally, they in-
MIDA | Malaysian Investment Development Authority
Consulate General of Malaysia (Investment Section)
17th Floor, Platz der Einheit 1
60327 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Tel: +49-(0)69-7680708-0
E-Mail : info@mida-frankfurt.de
MIDA | Malaysian Investment Development Authority
6th Floor, Bürkleinhaus
Bürkleinstrasse 10
80538 Munich, Germany
Tel: +49-(0)89-2030-0430
E-Mail : info@mida-munich.de
www.mida.gov.my
formed the audience of the specific incentives and aid
that the investment agencies can provide to investors.
Practical business matters for potential investors
As the idea behind the ASEAN Investment Forum 2017
was to provide as much practical and relevant information
to potential investors as possible, the organisers
invited experts from the German-Philippine Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, EY and Luther Services to give
insights on practical matters like costs of doing business
in ASEAN, taxation or how to incorporate a company in
the various ASEAN countries.
German companies in ASEAN
The last panel of the event was arguably also one of
the biggest highlights: four representatives of German
companies that have operations in the four ASEAN
countries frankly talked shared their experiences in their
respective countries. The companies were Eppendorf,
a lab tech manufacturer from Hamburg for Malaysia,
Lufthansa InTouch, the customer service division of the
German aviation company for the Philippines, MAN-
N+HUMMEL, a filter producer for Singapore and Robert
Bosch for Thailand. The topics discussed included
the reasons why the companies decided for a particular
ASEAN country based on their specific demands, their
plans for the future, compliance in ASEAN, and more.
Conclusion
After two successful iterations, the ASEAN Investment
Forum will become an annual event, a household name
for business-related issues in the ASEAN region for the
German and European community. The event is one of
its kind worldwide when it comes to different ASEAN investment
agencies joining forces to promote the entire
ASEAN region among potential foreign investors. It will
be interesting to follow the development of this annual
event series in the future.
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