Making the connection into the region

"It leads to greater opportunity for trading and financing in other industries," Kitson said. "For instance, Indonesia is a big buyer of Chinese telecom equipment like mobile handsets, switches and fiber optic cables. Local operators may not have the finances to buy in bulk. Chinese banks can then lend the money.

"A success story in telecom leads to investment in other industries like autos, pharmaceuticals, energy and infrastructure."

Frontier markets, like Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, also offer good investment opportunities for Chinese companies due to the low penetration of mobile phones and broadband services/infrastructure, he said. Plus these countries too have an appetite for Chinese low-interest credit and other financing initiatives.

While the United States, the European Union and Australia are raising barriers against Chinese telecom companies, the latter enjoy decided advantages in ASEAN.

"Chinese companies have advantages due to two reasons," said Chris Devonshire-Ellis, founding partner of Dezan Shira and Associates, a foreign direct investment advisory firm.

"First, a general acceptance and knowledge of traditional Asian culture in which China has played a large part; plus the free trade agreements signed by China with ASEAN with free trade in over 7,000 products already in place."

The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area was launched in 2010 and two years later, trade between the two reached a record high of $400.9 billion. In 2012, while China's total trade grew 6.2 percent, China-ASEAN trade rose by 10.2 percent. Chinese non-financial direct investment in ASEAN was $4.42 billion, 52 percent more than in 2011, taking the cumulative amount to $23.6 billion.

Today, while Beijing is ASEAN's biggest trade partner, the grouping is predicted to return the compliment in the next two to three years.

"Chinese enterprises are highly enthusiastic to go global and the investment fields are increasingly expanding," said Xu Ningning, executive secretary-general of the Beijing-based China-ASEAN Business Council.

"For an overseas investment destination, many Chinese enterprises prefer to choose ASEAN countries first. They hope to make good use of the CAFTA policies."

Chinese telecoms' overseas forays received State encouragement last year when the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology urged them to venture abroad and compete globally. Private investors were asked to put their money into telecommunications and other information technologies.

ASEAN too has been strengthening its ICT, especially after a World Bank study indicated that a 10 percent investment in broadband networks could raise economic growth by 1.38 percent.

In 2011, the ASEAN ICT master plan with the slogan "we're stronger when we're connected" was formulated, envisioning a broadband corridor linking cities in the region and a regional Internet exchange by 2015.