Southeast Asian competitiveness among world top 20

BANGKOK, December 4 (TNA) - The Southeast Asian region appears to be promising in terms of business competitiveness over the next five years, with Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand expected to be among top 20 based the 2013 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index. Thailand was ranked the world's 11th most competitiveness this year based on the 2013 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, worked out by Deloitte Southeast Asia, but the country may slide to the 15th place over the next five years; while Vietnam may jump from the 18th to the 10th place. Nuanjai Gittisriboongul, head of a team of experts for industrial manufacturing at Deloitte Southeast Asia, said that Indonesia may also leap up to the 11th place over the next five years, from the 17th now. Nuanjai noted that China is likely to remain on the top of the list under the index over the next five years; while India may jump from the 4th to the 2nd place. Besides, Brazil may emerge at the 3rd place, replacing the United States, which may fall to the 5th place, followed by South Korea at the 6th place; while Japan may slip from the top 10 rankings to the 12th place and European nations may also experience a noticeable drop in their competitiveness, with Germany, for instance, falling from the 2nd to the 4th rank. (TNA)