The 'New Asia' is now upon us. But what does this really mean? For shippers and logistics providers it means opportunity and it’s not just China that offers these opportunities – South East Asia, the Philippines and Myanmar all offer some unique growth prospects.

These opportunities include those within the healthcare industry. Excluding China and Japan, Asia-Pacific pharmaceutical logistics grew 18.5% from 2012 to 2013 while the medical device logistics market grew almost 23% for the same period. An expanding middle class and relocation of manufacturing due to lower costs of production are helping to drive this growth. The Asia-Pacific infrastructure for healthcare product exports is stronger than that for the domestic market. As such regulatory-certified warehousing and cold chain facilities are in short supply.

Myanmar is also enjoying growth especially as a location for apparel manufacturing. Damco, Yusen Logistics, Kuehne + Nagel and UPS are among the growing logistics providers to offer services to and from this frontier country.

Home to 10% of the world's semiconductor manufacturing services for such devices as mobile phone chips and microprocessors, the Philippines has endured several recent natural disasters but amazingly remains a shining light of growth for the APAC region. In fact, the IMF estimates that the Philippines economy will grow by over 6.0% in 2014, thanks in part to increases in manufacturing and exports.

While the Philippines is already home to a vibrant high-tech manufacturing market Indonesia is becoming a top location for such manufacturing as well. Samsung, Blackberry and Foxconn have all recently announced plans to manufacture mobile phones in Indonesia. What is interesting is that most of the devices produced from these Indonesian facilities will stay within the country. The country is considered one of the world's fastest growing markets for mobile phones.

“This is not the first time that neighbouring markets have shown potential as exciting alternative manufacturing locations. However, if other Asian countries are to capitalize on these opportunities there must be large scale investment in appropriate infrastructure” explained Joel Ray, Head of Consultancy at Ti. “Some seven or eight years ago, Vietnam was considered to be the next potential Asian manufacturing powerhouse, being a major component of the ‘China plus one’ strategy. Whilst it attracted some foreign investment, and experienced impressive GDP growth, the country has not fully realized its potential. Its business environment is not as open as that in China and many of the infrastructure developments completed were either located in less than optimal areas or hindered by bureaucracy, resulting in a much longer development process than in other countries.“

Join us in Singapore at the Emerging Markets Logistics Conference October 15-16 as we discuss market opportunities within the New Asia and other exciting topics over the two day event. To register to attend this event, please visit the Singapore 2014 Conference website. To discuss speaking and sponsorship opportunities or for further information please contact Ti’s Head of Events Sarah Smith. Also be sure to follow the latest conference news on Twitter at #TiSingapore14.