There is possibly a great cohesion between German-Asian relationships, especially in the not-so-distant future. That is, if head of Ernst & Young’s business center in Germany, Thomas Wirtz is to be believed. He said that: “While small and medium enterprises have been lagging behind when it comes to investment in ASEAN, including Indonesia, this is likely to change as 41 percent of the respondents expect the market to be more important than BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa] as well as other regions.”
In a recent EY report, Indonesia was ranked number five among top destinations for German investment after Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, where business projects from the world’s fourth-largest economy are still relatively low, thereby presenting wider room for growth.
Indeed, just a few weeks ago Germany’s finance minister announced that it would be applying for membership of the Asian Infrastructure investment Bank – seen by America as being a rival to the World Bank.
It seems also that German companies are hoping that the economic environment in Asia is only going to improve for them in the future. This is due to the Asean economic Community which is anticipated to lead to a true “integrated regional economy.” And that isn’t just Indonesia. In fact, Malaysia has become an increasingly popular hub for German investment. For example, figures for last year showed the implementation of 387 manufacturing projects worth RM26.8 billion from Germany into Malaysia, particularly in electric and electronics, chemical and chemical products, petroleum products, natural gas and rubber products.
So if these trends continue, Germany could likely become a major player in the east overseas.