TMF Group’s Head of APAC, Paolo Tavolato, said, “2015 is set to be a defining moment for Southeast Asian economies as the deadline for the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) looms. Given the great range of diversity in economic development, political systems, cultures and religions, the regions can actually be integrated into a unified economy. As China’s population ages and the workforce becomes more expensive, ASEAN can offer the full value chain to multi-national companies, from, say, research and development in Singapore, to labour-intensive manufacturing in Indonesia and Vietnam, supported by Business process outsourcing in the Philippines.”