ASEAN should follow Eastern Europe's growth model, ADBI dean says

Bambang Brodjonegoro pushes investment-led manufacturing, supply chain integration

Bambang Brodjonegoro speaks to Nikkei Asia in Tokyo on June 17. The dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute says Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia have a lot to learn from Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. (Photo by Andrew Sharp)

TOKYO -- Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are at risk of remaining stuck in a middle-income trap unless they rethink their economic model, deepen regional integration, and emulate the strategies of post-communist Eastern Europe, the dean of the Asian Development Bank Institute has warned.

In an interview last week at his Tokyo office, former Indonesian Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro urged ASEAN policymakers to move beyond decades-old export-led models and focus on investment-driven manufacturing, intra-regional trade and supply chain integration.

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