KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 2): The overall mood at the ongoing Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2017 was optimistic, despite concerns about rising geopolitical risks, as the focus switched to potential job creation capabilities with digital economy.
 
Tan Sri Andrew Sheng, chief adviser to China Banking Regulator Commission and a board member of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, told reporters this today on the sidelines of the forum.
 
“Everybody thinks that in the next five years, the global economy is going to be better,” said Sheng. “The world will do better in spite of all the worries of geopolitical risks. Everybody has good confidence about Malaysia and Asean.”
 
According to him, the current expectation is for Asean to grow by more than 6% on average, in the next five years.
 
“Everybody has come to consensus that there are many ways that we can create jobs. The whole idea is to have inclusive SME development,” Sheng said, adding that this is an area whereby the International Trade and Industry Ministry is expected to understand more from Alibaba regarding its strategies to create jobs, as well as trade with China and the rest of the world.
 
“There are geopolitical issues… but the general mood is that the digital economy is one way to enhance development. It’s all about jobs, jobs, jobs,” Sheng added, saying it is clear Malaysia has a lot of talent to grasp these opportunities.
 
On the reasons for optimism, Sheng emphasized that Asean as a single entity, stands somewhere between the fifth or seventh largest economies in the world, despite being a very young region.
 
“Average age is only 25 to 28 and already, some of the economies (in Asean) are growing at 7%. The potential for Asean to grow is huge,” he noted.