The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been urged to take action to narrow development gaps to enhance global competitive capability.

The recommendation was made by experts following a survey on the competitive capability of the 10 countries in the region announced by the Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI) under the Lee Kuan Yew Public Policy School.

The survey showed Singapore leads ASEAN in competitiveness, followed by Malaysia and Thailand. Vietnam ranks seventh in the region, ahead of Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

The result is based on analysis of indicators in macro-economics, government and institutions, financial markets, business conditions, human resources, quality of life and infrastructure development from 2000 to 2013.

According to Nguyen Dinh Cung, Head of the Central Economic Management Institute of Vietnam, to improve competitiveness, less developed countries need to strongly push reforms.

Professor Tan Khee Giap from the ACI said countries need to take full advantage of bilateral and multilateral cooperation to boost trade and attract foreign investment from inside and outside the bloc.

Giap said Vietnam has a lot of potential for growth in the next 2-3 years.

Tan Sri Rastam Mohd Isa, President and CEO of the Malaysian Institute of Strategic and International Studies, said in the context of a bleak global economy, Southeast Asia in particular and Asia in general are still growing and attractive for investors.

ASEAN groups Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar, and is predicted to become the world’s fourth largest economy by 2030.

VNA