ASEAN economies poised to keep robust growth in 2013 (3)

The rise of the middle class and structural transformation, particularly in Indonesia, could also push domestic consumption upwards.

The rising middle-income consumerism as well as process of urbanization within ASEAN will also boost intra-regional trade and this will help mitigate the tepid demand from the developed economies where a significant portion of overall demand of Asia's exports is still derived from.

The Bank of America-Merrill Lynch cited the favorable demographics and the push for greater integration and connectivity under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015 as the other two advantages of the regional grouping.

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