Doing Business in Southeast Asia
Summer school | Indonesia
Southeast Asia is one of the most populous and fastest growing economic regions in the world. Not only the climate and natural & urban landscape are poles apart from those in Belgium, also the culture and institutions differ greatly.
Over a period of two weeks in July, you will learn how to do business in such a non-Western culture. To accomplish this, we will visit many factories and other companies, speak with Belgian and local businesspeople, and learn a lot about the history and practices in Indonesia.
Programme
Lectures
- Doing business in SE Asia, development economics, dealing with cultural and religious differences, China’s role in SE Asia, dealing with corruption, and much more
Business visits
- Trips to local factories (e.g. Nike, Heinz)
- Belgian companies in Indonesia (textile, agricultural)
- Belgian expats, entrepreneurs, and the ambassador
Cultural trips
- Temples, historical sites, nature, and a megacity
Why Indonesia Matters - The Economist (November 2022)
Why Indonesia matters
Indonesia is back on the map. In the next decade it will only become more important
A quarter of a century on, Indonesia matters once again. It is the world’s largest Muslim-majority state, its third-biggest democracy and its fourth-most-populous country. With 276m people spread across thousands of islands that stretch from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, it is caught up in the strategic contest betweenAmerica and China. And like India and other emerging markets, it is adapting to a new world order in which globalisation and Western supremacy are in retreat.
Over the next quarter-century, the country’s clout could increase spectacularly. The economy is one reason.Indonesia is the sixth-biggest emerging market by gdp, and in the past decade has grown faster than any other $1trn-plus economy bar China and India. A source of dynamism is digital services, which are helping create a more integrated consumer market, with over 100m people collectively spending $80bn a year on everything from e-payments to apps for on-demand trucking.
Read the full article here.