The Belt and Road Initiative by China is gaining some serious popularity as more regional companies are taking interest in it. The initiative revolves around China’s plan to build a road connecting to various destinations for the purpose of promoting trade and enhancing global connectivity. Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia are ranked as the top three Asian countries with the most potential and opportunities.
The B&R Initiative also includes building infrastructure in the countries the road is connected to in order to facilitate smooth trade operations. The infrastructure projects they are considering are smart cities, industrial estates and roads. According to the Asian Development Bank, the economies of Southeast Asian countries will requires about US$210 billion per year for infrastructure investment for 2016 to 2030. This investment is to ensure the economic growth of the countries.
Beijing, the capital of China, is more than eager to make a multi-billion dollar investment in railways and roads under the B&R initiative. Under this plan that initiated in 2013, china now has projects in more than 125 countries. Its main projects in Southeast Asian countries include building railway systems Indonesia, Malaysia and Laos. The B&R initiative has received a lot of criticism. It’s considered as a tool used by China in order to further their geopolitical agenda as economies receiving investment for infrastructure are believed to get stuck in a ‘debt trap.’ However, Chinese President, Xi Jinping during one of his B&R Initiative related speeches said that this plan will be beneficial for not only China but all those participating in it.
Sustainable financing and the green growth initiative are a huge part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. This coupled with Singapore’s ‘smart nation’ technologies would prove to be very beneficial for both the countries. From countries involved in the BRI , Singapore has received 80% of investment from China. Since 2013, Indonesia has been considered as a crucial element for the success of the Belt and Road Initiative. The ‘road’ idea was first suggested by the Chinese President during his visit to Indonesia.
Vietnam would also benefit from the Belt and Road plan mainly due to its US$605 billion requirement from 2016 to 2040 for infrastructure. This would be too much to manage by itself therefore Vietnam would need to actively look for different funding sources from the Belt and Road Initiative.
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