ASEAN - million people, US$. trillion economy, and huge growth potential.

Yet despite the advantages, trade integration within ASEAN remains limited.

Intra-ASEAN trade is still a small - and even shrinking - share of total trade.

Why is that?

Many ASEAN nations export similar products.

That means countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore often chase the same projects and investors — instead of building joint value chains.\n But when neighbours are rivals, cooperation gets complicated.\n Watch the video to learn why ASEAN’s similarities may be its biggest challenge to functioning as a truly integrated economic bloc.