Firstly, ASEAN has enabled SMEs in the region to gain access to a larger and more extensive marketplace. The realisation of ASEAN into an integrated economic community means that the potential benefits for SMEs in the region are no longer constrained by national borders. With easier cross-border flow of goods, services, capital and people, ASEAN offers significant market opportunities for SMEs. Given the large consumer base in ASEAN, SMEs can also utilise ASEAN as a platform to strengthen competitiveness before entering into the global market. Secondly, the lowering of regulatory barriers to trade within ASEAN has further increased the potential for SMEs. The standardisation of trade procedures, the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers and the improvement of regulatory frameworks across the region has been an additional enabling factor. This will not only provide SMEs with a level playing field in conducting businesses across the region, but will also maximise the competitive advantage of the individual ASEAN economies. This is evidenced by the emergence of regional supply chains, where reductions in tariffs on imported raw materials have resulted in lower production costs, while the removal of tariffs on a wide range of finished products for export within ASEAN will also benefit SMEs that trade within the region. Thus, the lowering of tariffs within the region and the large regional market will provide an environment for SMEs to grow and achieve the production scale and efficiency required to compete in the global marketplace.
I would also like to thank the faculty and administrative staff for their sterling work, and to congratulate the students of the class of 2023 of the Master in Economics and Finance, for whom I wish the very brightest of futures. Thank you very much. 2/2  BIS - Central bankers' speeches