Perdana Magazine 2014-2015 | Page 12

CEO Forum 2014 concurren t session a “The importance of Asean for financial resilience” moderator Ms Mildred Tan | Head of Advisory, EY Singapore “You’ve heard that if Asean was a country, we would be the 7th largest in the world, with a population of more than 600 million. We have a very young population – half of them are under the age of 30. Europe, on the other hand, is facing a challenge in that its population is ageing. A young population is a positive factor for greater economic growth. The continent that can match Asean in terms of demographics would be Africa. ” panellists Ms Tan Bin Eng | Partner, Business Incentives Advisory, EY Singapore “Asean has the potential to be highly competitive as an integrated economic region. That’s clearly one of the things that all Asean countries are looking forward to. We want better economic resilience for the whole of Asean as a region. This means that we need to talk about investors and FDI. How do outside investors view Asean, what do they see are the benefits of the AEC? We believe that the ability to attract investments will continue to be a key barometer of success for the AEC.” Tan Sri Rastam Mohd Isa | CEO, Institute of Strategic and International Studies “Asean has already gained respect, admiration and a certain amount of influence within the international community. This is quite clear. Everyone talks about Asean’s strength, everyone talks about Asean being the driving force. In some cases, about Asean being in the driver’s seat. The thing about being in the driver’s seat is this: You are the driver of a taxi, but the passenger tells you where to go. You should inste Y