The economic downturn was the hot topic among entrepreneurs attending the fifth China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Expo, in the south China's Guangxi Province.

Many voiced an urgent need for building a common Asian market as a way to cope with the ongoing financial turmoil, which initially broke out on Wall Street, swept through Europe, and was now being felt globally.

Business with Europe, US shrink on large scale

"Our business has kept on declining since the end of 2007, with the sales lowered by at least 70 percent," said Weilong Nong, a Malaysian timber merchant whose major target market used to be Europe.

One blessing he has is his timber export business to the Middle East and South Asia has yet to be affected. This meant there was no immediate survival concerns for his business.

"I am now at a stage better than that in the 1997 Asian financial crisis," said the Kuala Lumpur native, who was still haunted by the memory that his company's chain of funding was cut off as a result of the bank credit contraction, which almost led to his bankruptcy.

For Nong, his company's exports were affected greatly by the slack US and European markets.

Akhmad Fauzi, owner of Indonesia SiPRA Furniture Company, is in a similar situation. His main markets are in the United States and Europe where he generates annual sales of about US$4.8 million.

"I have not seen any turn-for-the-better sign from the economic turmoil as the orders from our US and European clients have dropped..

"We must nurture the new market," said the entrepreneur, adding this was the reason he was attending the expo for the first time.

"I am optimistic about the markets in China and ASEAN member countries," he added.

Successful experience

Not all entrepreneurs at the expo, however, were worried about their market. Fah Kim Yu-hong was one such person.

The owner of the Malaysia Majulah Koko Tawau Company drew a crowd around her booth as delegates sipped coco milk produced by her company. The listed 70-year-old family enterprise is involved in coco planting and processing, generating annual sales of around US$10 million.

"The world economic slowdown has yet to affect our business, and the orders from the US and Europe have exceeded our production," said Fah, adding her major worry was how to increase productivity.

She highlighted two areas key to her success; the first was in the product quality and quantity, and the second was in introducing talent and technology to find products most fitting to clients in the United States and Europe.

"About 20 percent of our net profit will go into research and development. It will take two years for a new product to be put on the market."

For Vietnamese Lai Shaofa, manager of Biti's Footwear Co Ltd, the economic slowdown had caused some damage to its traditional business but the growth of new business, such as real estate development, had offset any losses.

He explained 60 percent of the company's business came from footwear exports. A new revenue stream, however, had developed from the company's move into real estate.

"It's just a question of time in earning more money," said Lai.

Need for a common market

For many entrepreneurs at the expo, the same question lingered in their minds -- "Would the world economic trouble affect Asia?"

"We need a common market," Nong said. "China and ASEAN countries should reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members."

He added if that goal was achieved, a common market would help Asian countries to resist the world economic slowdown in a much better way.

China's steady growth was vital to the development of ASEAN countries. The China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone was expected to become the third largest globally in 2010 and the ties between China and ASEAN were set to become closer, said Nguyen Van Nen, director of the planning and promotion department of the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance.

Vice Premier Wang Qishan said China and ASEAN member countries had signed and put into effect various agreements. These included trade in goods and services, lowered tariff duties and expanded market access, deepened sub-regional economic cooperation in the Greater Mekong River Basin and the East ASEAN Growth Area, and promoted trade and investment facilitation.

The trade volume between China and ASEAN nations attained a trade target of US$200 billion in 2007, three years ahead of schedule.

In face of such unprecedented challenges as the world economic crisis, it was of special importance to accelerate the China-ASEAN cooperation, said Wang.

He added China-ASEAN cooperation in various fields had shown good momentum of growth featuring equality, mutual trust, mutual benefit and win-win progress.

"Asian countries should join hands to build a common market to make them stronger," Nong said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 24, 2008)