By Sondre Ulvund Solstad
Apr. 12 – The ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA) entered into force on March 29, 2012, aiming to create a free and open investment environment through the consolidation and expansion of existing agreements between the ASEAN member countries. In replacing its two precursors, the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) and ASEAN Investment Guarantee (AIG) agreements, the ACIA attempts to establish a regime based on international best practices while expanding and reaffirming principles set down in the AIA and AIG. In doing so it provides comprehensive and clear definitions in line with existing international agreements, enhancing the attractiveness of ASEAN as a single investment destination.
The ACIA is seen as a key part of the ASEAN Economic Community blueprint set down by the regional grouping’s member states in 2007, which aims to establish an integrated regional economy with the free flow of both investment and services.
In an interview with the Oxford Business Group last year, then ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan stressed the agreements commitment to international best practices, labeling the deal a “bold initiative.”
“As the name suggests, the ACIA is comprehensive, but more than that, it is also based on international best practices and on a par with other international investment agreements in terms of its scope, rights and obligations,” he said.
The overall goal of the agreement, according to the ASEAN Secretariat based in Jakarta, is the establishment of a “liberal, facilitative, transparent and competitive investment environment in ASEAN.”
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