Trilateral links will boost growth

Hong Kong venture capitalist Andre Kwok shuttles between the Chinese territory and member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as well as the Gulf Cooperation Council at least twice a month.

His engagements in the three regions range from securing deals and investments to doing advisory work in sectors such as food and agriculture, specifically poultry, and banking and financial technologies.

Kwok’s work has taken him to countries including Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia in Southeast Asia, and to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf region.

Currently, Kwok is working with an Omani connection, a former senior government official looking to develop private banking and family office services and eyeing East Asia and Southeast Asia networks. The Omani group came to Hong Kong and Shanghai last September.

“In terms of the pace of developments, (the) fast-moving (sectors) are definitely capital markets, which we can easily see in Abu Dhabi, UAE, drawing all, not just Western capital, but also families from Indonesia and Malaysia,” said Kwok, director of Hong Kong-based Rainmaker Ventures and Tomorrow City Co-Investment Ltd.

“Interestingly, we’re also seeing Middle East family offices expanding their offices through Singapore. We’re seeing some Saudi families moving their family offices to locations like Indonesia. In Indonesia and Malaysia, lots of Saudis and Qataris are coming over,” he added.

Muath Seyam, a senior fellow and coordinator of the Southeast Asia Study Circle at the Asia Middle East Center for Research and Dialogue think tank in Malaysia, said that ASEAN-GCC relations “have entered a new phase of strategic depth and institutionalization, especially in the past decade”.

“While the relationship was historically underdeveloped due to geographic distance and differing regional priorities, recent years have seen a marked improvement in political will, economic linkages, and multilateral engagement,” Seyam said.

In 2024, trade between ASEAN and the Gulf countries stood at $63 billion, making GCC the fifth-largest external trading partner of the bloc.

In that same year, trade between China and GCC countries reached over $288 billion, while bilateral trade in goods between China and ASEAN reached $982.34 billion.

The First ASEAN-GCC Ministerial Meeting was convened in June 2009 in Manama, Bahrain. Since then, relations among the parties involved have continued to deepen, culminating in the first ASEAN-GCC Summit in October 2023, held in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. Most recently, amid global uncertainties, the first trilateral ASEAN-GCC-China Summit took place in Malaysia in May last year.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang called on the three parties to set a global benchmark in openness, development cooperation and cross-civilization integration.

Seyam said China “plays a dual and catalytic role in the evolving ASEAN-GCC dynamic — both as a shared partner and a competitive motivator”.

“(The) Belt and Road Initiative overlaps geographically and strategically with the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and the GCC’s various Vision 2030 reforms, especially in Saudi Arabia and UAE,” he said.

“This overlapping interest pushes ASEAN and GCC to coordinate infrastructure financing, maritime logistics, and digital corridors — often in response to, or in partnership with, Chinese financing and construction firms.”

Abdullah Al-Hashem, the former assistant secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council for Human and Environmental Affairs, said that ASEAN-GCC relations have been “good and positive from a long time ago”, citing the “different dimensions, different paradigms of cooperation”.

But he believes that more could be done in the education sphere, and said he hopes to see many ASEAN universities in the Gulf region, which he said would help strengthen cultural relations.

Al-Hashem noted that ASEAN countries currently do not have universities or colleges in the GCC countries.

Educational ties, and knowledge and skills sharing, are “very important”, he said, adding that GCC nations seek technology transfers and related cooperation with the ASEAN region.

“This needs a lot of study and work,” said Al-Hashem, who is currently a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching Methods at the College of Education at Kuwait University.

New markets

Abdulrahim Naqi, former secretary-general of the Federation of GCC Chambers, said ASEAN-GCC relations have stood the test of time.

“When I was secretary-general for FGCCC from 2007-2019, we had a big conference between GCC and ASEAN. We also established a dialogue in Riyadh, talking about negotiations about free-trade agreement between the two sides.

“In my opinion, the relationship between GCC and ASEAN is very strong. I think ASEAN will be a very good gateway to Asia, especially with the initiative of China, with the Belt and Road Initiative, which means many things will change in the future. Strategically, the economy in the GCC will (complement that of) China and other countries in Asia,” said Naqi, who is also a consultant at strategic consultancy Checklist in Bahrain.

While the ASEAN region and China represent “one of the new markets for the GCC”, there are also many opportunities for the counterparts for economic engagement with the GCC, “especially projects in infrastructure, electricity, power, water, the highways, bridges and more”, he added.

Naqi credited the expertise of China and ASEAN members including Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia in agriculture for helping the GCC strengthen the region’s food security.

“I hope that in the future, (there will be more) dialogue about what are the benefits for the two sides and focusing on the role of the private sector in ASEAN and GCC.”

He added that entities which can help push and lead such dialogues include the chambers of commerce, Islamic banks in Jeddah and industrial groups in Doha, Qatar.

Naqi also noted that ASEAN and China are “very good markets for high-quality labor” in the sectors of oil and gas, agriculture and engineering.

Seyam, the senior fellow from AMEC, said that people-to-people and cultural diplomacy are key indicators of robust relations, noting that there has been increased collaboration on education, Islamic finance and tourism.

“Halal certification cooperation has aligned standards between GCC and ASEAN, boosting trade in food and pharmaceuticals,” he said.

Naqi, the former FGCCC secretary-general, said, “We can, from our experience, help ASEAN (businesses) get (into) the GCC (region).”

He added that the media also has a role to play in helping to “increase relations and trade relations between GCC and ASEAN”.

“There are many ways we can help and work together to succeed, especially in economy and business,” he said.

jan@chinadailyapac.com