The majority of Canadian companies with operations in Southeast Asia are optimistic about business and investment prospects in the region, according to the results of an Asia Pacific Foundation (APF) Canada survey released October 8.
The survey found that 81% of Canadian companies doing business in the ASEAN region (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) believe their investment prospects are positive, with 34% responding that they felt very positive. The findings also show that 12% of respondents are neutral in their expectations and 7% have a negative view of their future prospects.
"The vast majority of Canadian businesses in the region are profitable, and most project that profitability from their ASEAN operations will increase in the next two years," said Yuen Pau Woo, APF Canada president and CEO.
"Despite ongoing concerns about growth prospects for emerging markets, Canadian companies on the ground expect continued success with their Southeast Asian operations."
The results of the survey also found that 63% of those companies had achieved profitability within two years of beginning their ASEAN operations.
In addition, the companies surveyed said that the main barriers to doing business in the ASEAN region were:
- corruption (67%);
- inconsistent laws and regulations (60%); and
- risk of intellectual property infringement (59%).
Canadian companies were most active in Singapore (60%), Indonesia (58%) and Malaysia (53%).
