Asia's opportunities come with challenges

Boardrooms around the world are abuzz with talks about Hong Kong's new budget, and global businesses are cautiously optimistic about its measures to cut taxes and stabilize the economy. It is a much-needed step that could drive growth at a critical time.

Of course, this is just the latest chapter of a promising economic story in Hong Kong - and all across Asia. Thanks to developments like these, more and more businesses and investors from around the world are looking to Asia.

In a slow growth world, Asia offers a strong prospect. Some major Asian economies have slowed in recent years. But even with that deceleration, Asia remains the fastest-growing economic region in the world. This year, Asia's economy is projected to grow 6 percent, nearly double the expected global rate of 3.5 percent.

Part of this is because of market-oriented policies, like those we've seen in Hong Kong for some time. There are encouraging prospects like these across Asia.

Businesses worldwide are hopeful about China's plan to reshape its legal system, combat corruption and reform its financial market. It's a positive step in a country whose standards for rule of law ranked 79th out of 99 countries last year.

China needs to find a way to sustain its growth as it shifts to a consumption-based economy and addresses the problems of urbanization, and the resulting energy and environmental challenges.

Businesses are also closely following the developments within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. As it moves toward economic integration, ASEAN's economic potential is significant. ASEAN is expected to grow 5 percent a year by 2018 - surpassing the United States, the European Union and Japan. By 2025, ASEAN's middle class is projected to nearly double. It's little wonder then that many companies - from Uber to Microsoft - are especially targeting the ASEAN market.