Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2013
The Asian Development Bank has released Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2013, which is now the 44th edition of this series, presenting the latest statistics on development issues facing the region. Asia and the Pacific region are currently home to about 55% of the world's population, have six of the 10 most populous economies, and generated 36% of the global GDP in 2012 in purchasing power parity terms (PPP), reports the ADB. That is an 8% increase from 2000 to 2012. As noted in previous reports by the World Bank and others, the amount of intraregional trade has increased,
with the ADB reporting that it accounted for 56% of merchandise exports and half of all imports in the region in 2012. Thailand's Ministry of Commerce reports trade between Thailand and Asia in 2012 accounted for 69.16% of the Kingdom's total trade, with a value of US$331,440.96 million: exports of US$147,690.55 million accounting for 64.43 of total exports and an import value of US$183,750.41 accounting for 73.5% of total imports. Highlighted in the report is the importance of manufacturing, "so that labor does not simply move from low-productivity agriculture into low-productivity services." Throughout Asia, agriculture still employs over 700 million people, or 42.82% of the region's total employment. The report notes that countries with a large percentage of people employed in agriculture, including Thailand, need to develop industries and services to absorb the labor. At the same time, Thailand is among the few countries in the region where industry's share of GDP is the highest. ADB notes that between 1995 and 2010, "Thailand increased the number of products exported with RCA from 593 to 776. In 2012 it exported 2,246 products that belonged to the top product complexity tercile." RCA is revealed comparative advantage of a country in a class of goods or services evidenced by trade flows. "Countries such as Malaysia and Thailand have developed institutional capacity to diversify their economies, but need to deepen and upgrade their industries to avoid being caught in the middle-income trap" says the ADB. It should be recalled that this is precisely what the secretary general of the Thailand Board of Investment explained during his presentation earlier in the year in regards to BOI's evolving investment policy, and why the country is working hard to shift emphasis to industries that can accomplish this task. While Thailand is now an industrialized country, the ADB aptly reports that about 39% of the population is still employed in agriculture, while 46% are now employed in services. Although only 15% of the country's total employment is listed in manufacturing, Thailand's manufacturing output contributes a high 35% of GDP. Nevertheless, ADB concludes that "Economies that still have significant shares of their employment in agriculture…need to speed up the transition of labor from agriculture into manufacturing and services." ADB writes that once the labor surplus in agriculture is absorbed, then agriculture productivity will increase along with rural wages. For Thailand, writes ADB, investment in high quality education will also be needed in order to upgrade the manufacturing sector. This is something that has been recognized at the highest levels of government, particularly in the light of impending competition within the AEC.
The ADB notes that although Asia's growth was more subdued in 2012, the tables reinforce its growing importance in the world. The time it takes to start and register a new business is declining across the region, and more than half of the economies have increased investment spending in recent years. All in all, Asia, it seems, remains the place to invest and grow a business.