Doing business in the Asia-Pacific region today is not the same as it was 50 years ago. Around the region, countries are pushing for greater connectivity through initiatives like China’s Belt and Road Initiative (B&R) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) efforts to integrate and harmonize regulatory regimes. Regional markets share a common interest in driving an Asian renaissance in industry and economic development. Compared to Europe or America—regions that are more homogenous and often linked by a common language—an integrated regional network across the Asia-Pacific region might sound like a lofty ambition. Increasingly, however, it is coming to be seen as an essential prerequisite for achieving business success in Asia.
When Western companies first started entering the region in the 1950s, their objectives were straightforward: go to the place where the product was most needed or the resource could most conveniently be accessed. Local businesses in the region at the time had an even clearer need: local resources. That worked well for some time because, even then, the Asia-Pacific region was diverse, with huge variations in terms of natural resources, transportation and other infrastructure, history, culture, workforces, and levels of development. Companies that wanted to find resources or buyers for their products were bound to find them somewhere.