March 2022

Review of ASEAN Commitments in
Computer and Related Services
under AFAS 10 and RCEP

Notes
The terms country and economy as used in this study also refer, as appropriate, to territories orareas; the designations employed and the presentation of the material do not express opinion
whatsoever on the part of the ASEAN-Japan Centre concerning the legal status of any country,
territory, city or area, or its authorities, or the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
The tables use the following symbols:• Two dots (..) indicate that data are not available or are not separately reported.
• A dash (-) indicates that the item equals zero or its value is negligible.
• Use of an en-dash (–) between dates representing years, e.g. , 2015–2016, signifies the fullperiod involved, including the beginning and end years.
• Reference to “dollars” ($) means United States dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

Prepared by Hikari Ishido (Chiba University, Japan), Mateus S. Chang (Keio University, Japan)and ASEAN-Japan Centre. The manuscript was edited by Tora Estep. Errors and omissions are
only those of the authors and should not be attributed to their respective organizations.

Contents
I. Introduction······························································································································································1
II. A scendancy of Computer and Related Services Trade·····························································3
1. Mode 1: Cross-Border Supply··············································································································3
2. Mode 3: Commercial Presence············································································································8
3. Modes 2 and 4: Consumption Abroad and Movement of Computer
Services Staff··············································································································································· 11III. T rade Agreements and Regulations among and in ASEAN Member States········· 12
IV. I mpacts of Further Liberalization of Computer and Related Serviceson the Economy··············································································································································· 16
1. Economic Impacts···································································································································· 16
2. Need for Regulation································································································································ 18
V. P olicy Recommendations and Promotion Measures for Computerand Related Services···································································································································· 19
Annexes:Specific Schedule of Commitments for “Computer and Related
Services” Under AFAS (10th package, signed in November 2018) by
ASEAN Members and Under RCEP (Signed in 2020) by ASEAN Members
and Their Five Dialogue Partners ············································································································ 33
Annex A.
Specific Commitment Tables for Computer and Related Services Under
AFAS (10th package)··········································································································································· 35
Annex B.
Specific Commitment Tables or Reservation Tables for Computer andRelated Services Under RCEP······················································································································ 441

I. Introduction
Computer and related services are an indispensable input into the economic activities of ASEAN.
The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) administered by the World Trade Organization(WTO) lists1 the following five job categories under “Computer and related services”:2
1. Consultancy services related to the installation of computer hardware
2. Software implementation services
3. Data processing services
4. Database services
5. Other.
Figure 1 displays the position and role of computer and related services in value-creating economic
activities on a value chain curve. The coverage (the shaded square in the figure) of computer andrelated services is broad, encompassing the whole production chain. Because of this, whereas
the industry can operate in a stand-alone manner, it also tends to work in combination with otherindustries such as telecommunication services (especially for Internet services and research anddevelopment services) and thereby form the basis for e-commerce or artificial intelligence (AI)businesses. Computer and related services ensure smoother (in the horizontal direction, known
as the “value chain”) and more efficient (in the vertical direction, referred to as “value added”)
operation of a country’s entire value-creating activities for the entire industry.
An important and relevant concept to consider is transaction costs, i.e. , the costs associated withaccounting transactions and information transactions in connection with business activities. The
introduction of computer and related services could significantly reduce (unnecessary) transaction
costs. Trade in computer and related services is therefore expected to reduce those transaction
costs to a large extent, an effect that would not be possible with domestic suppliers of computerand related services, as computer-related firms based in advanced countries, for instance,
possess a much greater comparative advantage.
The use of computer-based information facilities can reduce the degree of information asymmetry
among workers in business firms and across various job categories. This is another reason why
trade in computer services should be promoted in the ASEAN region and in the global economy atlarge.

1
2“Services Sectoral Classification List” (MTN.GNS/W/120, released 10 July 1991).
This paper addresses computer and related services using computers as online (Internet) and offline instruments.
Internet services fall under telecommunication services.

2

Figure 1 . Value chains and computer and related services

II.

Ascendancy of Computer and Related Services Trade

Table 1 shows the estimated value and share of computer and related services
supply by mode of supply (in 2015). Both services are supplied to foreign
markets from ASEAN (exports) and are received from abroad (imports), which
are estimated at roughly $1 trillion; computer and related services account for 2
per cent of the former and 6 per cent of the latter (table 1). Like other services,computer and related services are provided through four modes (Mode 1 to Mode4). Exports through commercial presence (Mode 3) is the largest, 1.5 times
greater than cross-border trade (Mode 1) (table 1). Supply of computer andrelated services through consumption abroad (Mode 2) and through movementof persons (Mode 4) are negligible. The following subsections discuss these inorder by size.

3

II. Ascendancy of Computer and Related Services
Trade
Table 1 shows the estimated value and share of computer and related services supply by modeof supply (in 2015). Both services are supplied to foreign markets from ASEAN (exports) and arereceived from abroad (imports), which are estimated at roughly $1 trillion; computer and related
services account for 2 per cent of the former and 6 per cent of the latter (table 1). Like otherservices, computer and related services are provided through four modes (Mode 1 to Mode 4).
Exports through commercial presence (Mode 3) is the largest, 1.5 times greater than cross-border
trade (Mode 1) (table 1). Supply of computer and related services through consumption abroad(Mode 2) and through movement of persons (Mode 4) are negligible. The following subsections
discuss these in order by size.

Table 1. E stimated value and share of computer and related services supply, by mode of
supply, 2015

1. Mode 1: Cross-Border Supply

The export
and import statistics
for computer and related services show the
1. Mode1: Cross-Border
Supplyamounts of cross-border supply from ASEAN to the world and from the world

ASEAN(tablesstatistics
2 and 3).forSingapore
therelated
largestservices
exporterin thissector, while
The toexportand importcomputer isandshow
the amountsof crossPhilippines is the second largest with a bit more than one third of Singapore’svalue. However, in terms of share in total exports of services, Philippines’ figures
are by far the highest, with more than 10 per cent. Other than Philippines, exportsof computer and related services may not be one of the comparative advantages

4border supply from ASEAN to the world and from the world to ASEAN (tables 2 and 3). Singapore
is the largest exporter in this sector, while Philippines is the second largest with a bit more than
one third of Singapore’s value. However, in terms of share in total exports of services, Philippines’
figures are by far the highest, with more than 10 per cent. Other than Philippines, exports ofcomputer and related services may not be one of the comparative advantages of ASEAN member
states. As to imports, Singapore has the largest imports, followed by Indonesia and Malaysia.
Philippines imports a smaller amount.
Additional information such as the trend line and export competitiveness supplement thebasic statistics. The slope of these trade data measures the former (table 4), and the revealed
comparative advantage measures the latter (table 5). All countries, except Lao People’s
Democratic Republic, Philippines and Viet Nam, import more than they export, resulting in
negative comparative advantages.
• Brunei Darussalam’s performance is one of the lowest among ASEAN member states. Its
export slope and export competitiveness are negative (reflecting the fact that the country’s
computer and related services sector has not taken off in a full-fledged manner).
• Although Cambodia’s export figures were the third lowest among ASEAN member states, aconsiderable increase occurred in the last years. The facts that Cambodia had the highest
positive export slope and an improvement in the export competitiveness index reflect thisprogress. These are the results of the country’s recent integration into the ASEAN regional
market.
• Indonesia’s exports are increasing gradually, and its export slope is positive; however, its
export competitiveness is negative, reflecting that its current comparative advantage is not in
the computer and related services sector.
• While the exports of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic remained low, its export slope waspositive and greater than the ASEAN average.
• Malaysia is performing well, as it has an extensive manufacturing base centered on electronics.
It ranked third in terms of export volume; however, although positive, its export slope waslower than the ASEAN average, and the export competitiveness index was negative in 2020.
• Myanmar’s export figures oscillate between the third and fourth lowest among ASEAN member
states, but its export slope is higher than the ASEAN average, presumably because it has been
facilitating the marketization of the overall economy; its export competitiveness was negative.
• Philippines’ exports are the second highest, and its export slope is significantly positive. Thisis largely because of its established business facilities for exporting information and computer
technology (ICT)–related services, most importantly for undertaking offshore business.
• Singapore’s export values are by far the largest, and its export slope is positive and higher thanthe ASEAN average. This reflects the highly developed ICT-related facilities in the country. The
export competitiveness index oscillated around zero, given that the export values were also by
far the largest in the region.
• Thailand’s export values remain rather low because the country focuses on the automotive
industry. Its export slope is positive yet slightly less than the ASEAN average.
• Viet Nam’s exports increased (reflecting its ongoing transition to a more market-based
economy), but the level remains rather low. Its export slope, however, is positive and higher
than the ASEAN average; its export competitiveness index is also positive and higher than the
ASEAN average (which is negative).

5

Table 2. E xports of computer services and their share in total exports of services and in
total export of goods and services, 2005–2020 (millions of dollars and per cent)Country

Annual average
2005–2010

Computer services exports
Brunei Darussalam*
9
Cambodia
1
Indonesia
144
Lao PDR°
1
Malaysia
932
Myanmar†..
Philippines
1,039
Singapore+
1,576©
Thailand19
Viet Nam®
43
ASEAN total
3,763
Share in total exports of services
Brunei Darussalam
1.2
Cambodia
0.0
Indonesia
1.0
Lao PDR
0.3
Malaysia
3.3
Myanmar..
Philippines
7.7
Singapore
2.0
Thailand
0.1
Viet Nam
0.7
ASEAN total
2.2
Share in total exports of goods and services
Brunei Darussalam
0.1
Cambodia
0.0
Indonesia
0.1
Lao PDR
0.1
Malaysia
0.4
Myanmar..
Philippines
1.7
Singapore
0.4
Thailand
0.0
Viet Nam
0.1
ASEAN total
0.4

Annual average
2011–2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

0
1
222
2
1,481
5
2,624
5,175
35
181
9,725

0
5
205
1
1,441
5
4,706
9,256
38
313
15,970

0
3
184
0
1,751
10
4,616
10,31840
338
17,260

1
5
297
0
1,695
14
4,581
12,53452
373
19,551

1
23
327
0
1,798
11
4,730
11,29988
410
18,687

4
20
414
..
1,771
15
4,371
11,244141..
17,979

0.0
0.0
1.0
0.2
4.0
0.2
12.0
4.0
0.1
1.9
3.5

0.0
0.1
1.0
0.2
4.5
0.1
16.6
6.7
0.1
1.6
5.2

0.0
0.1
0.8
0.0
5.3
0.3
14.9
6.8
0.1
1.8
5.2

0.1
0.1
1.1
0.0
4.9
0.3
13.7
7.0
0.1
1.7
5.2

0.1
0.4
1.2
0.0
5.1
0.2
13.4
6.1
0.1
1.7
4.8

1.4
1.2
3.3
..
9.6
0.4
16.5
7.1
0.5
..
6.8

0.0
0.0
0.1
0.1
0.6
0.0
3.5
1.0
0.0
0.1
0.7

0.0
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.7
0.0
5.8
2.1
0.0
0.2
1.2

0.0
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.8
0.1
5.0
2.1
0.0
0.2
1.2

0.0
0.0
0.2
0.0
0.7
0.1
4.9
2.3
0.0
0.2
1.2

0.0
0.1
0.2
0.0
0.8
0.1
4.9
2.2
0.0
0.2
1.2

0.1
0.1
0.3
..
0.8
0.1
5.5
2.4
0.1
..
1.3

Source: AJC based on own data from UNCTAD and ASEANstats.
* Data are available only for telecommunications, computer and information services. Therefore, the ratio of computer services tothis sector from Malaysia is applied to estimate the computer services sector only.
° Data are available only for telecommunications, computer and information services. Therefore, the ratio of computer services tothis sector from Myanmar in 2014 is applied to estimate the computer services sector only.
†For 2012–2013 data are available only for telecommunications, computer and information services. Therefore, Myanmar’s ratioof computer services to this sector from the year 2014 is applied to estimate the computer services sector only.
+ For 2005–2010 data are available only for telecommunications, computer and information services. Therefore, Singapore’s ratioof computer services to this sector from the year 2011 is applied to estimate the computer services sector only.
©
For 2014–2020, the computer services total was calculated as telecommunications, computer and information services minus
telecommunication services.
®
For 2005–2009 data are available only for telecommunications, computer and information services. Therefore, Viet Nam’s ratioof computer services to this sector from the year 2010 is applied to estimate the computer services sector only.

6

Table 3. Imports of computer services and their share in total imports of services and in
total imports of goods and services, 2005–2020 (millions of dollars and per cent)Country

Annual average
2005–2010

Computer services imports
Brunei Darussalam*
9
Cambodia
1
Indonesia
657
Lao PDR°
0
Malaysia
811
Myanmar†..
Philippines
84
Singapore+
1,472©
Thailand235
Viet Nam®
8
ASEAN total
3,277
Share in total imports of services
Brunei Darussalam
0.7
Cambodia
0.1
Indonesia
2.6
Lao PDR
0.2
Malaysia
2.8
Myanmar..
Philippines
0.9
Singapore
1.8
Thailand
0.6
Viet Nam
0.1
ASEAN total
1.7
Share in total imports of goods and services
Brunei Darussalam
0.2
Cambodia
0.0
Indonesia
0.5
Lao PDR
0.0
Malaysia
0.5
Myanmar..
Philippines
0.1
Singapore
0.4
Thailand
0.1
Viet Nam
0.0
ASEAN total
0.3

Annual average
2011–2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

40
22
815
1
1,528
4
226
7,501
458
121
10,714

27
48
1,295
1
1,656
50
342
9,755
397
195
13,767

19
38
1,624
0
1,474
52
348
11,638386
185
15,763

32
45
1,875
0
1,607
49
474
10,839436
198
15,553

46
37
2,113
0
1,708
97
594
12,128631
201
17,555

76
21
2,188
..
1,899
49
580
12,438471..
17,722

1.9
1.3
2.6
0.1
3.8
0.2
1.4
5.5
1.1
1.0
3.8

1.8
2.2
4.7
0.1
4.5
2.2
1.6
6.8
1.0
1.3
4.7

1.7
1.5
5.6
0.0
3.9
2.0
1.5
7.2
0.9
1.2
5.0

2.3
1.7
5.7
0.0
4.1
1.6
2.0
6.2
0.9
1.3
4.6

3.0
1.3
6.3
0.0
4.6
3.1
2.5
6.8
1.3
1.3
5.1

7.4
1.2
10.6
..
6.8
1.7
3.8
8.5
1.2
..
6.6

0.7
0.2
0.4
0.0
0.7
0.0
0.3
1.6
0.2
0.1
0.8

0.7
0.4
0.9
0.0
0.9
0.3
0.3
2.4
0.2
0.1
1.1

0.5
0.2
1.0
0.0
0.7
0.3
0.3
2.6
0.2
0.1
1.1

0.6
0.3
1.0
0.0
0.7
0.2
0.4
2.2
0.2
0.1
1.0

0.8
0.2
1.2
0.0
0.8
0.5
0.5
2.5
0.3
0.1
1.1

1.5
0.1
1.6
..
1.0
0.3
0.6
2.9
0.2
..
1.3

Source: AJC based on own data from UNCTAD and ASEANstats.
* Data are available only for telecommunications, computer and information services. Therefore, the ratio of computer services tothis sector from Malaysia is applied to estimate the computer services sector only.
° Data are available only for telecommunications, computer and information services. Therefore, the ratio of computer services tothis sector from Myanmar in 2014 is applied to estimate the computer services sector only.
†For 2012–2013 data are available only for telecommunications, computer and information services. Therefore, Myanmar’s ratioof computer services to this sector from the year 2014 is applied to estimate the computer services sector only.
+ For 2005–2010 data are available only for telecommunications, computer and information services. Therefore, Singapore’s ratioof computer services to this sector from the year 2011 is applied to estimate the computer services sector only.
©
For 2014–2020 the computer services total was calculated as telecommunications, computer and information services minus
telecommunication services.
®
For 2005–2009 data are available only for telecommunications, computer and information services. Therefore, Viet Nam’s ratioof computer services to this sector from the year 2010 is applied to estimate the computer services sector only.

7

Table 4. Export trend line for computer services
Country

Slope (in log)

Brunei Darussalam-0.302

Cambodia

0.340

Indonesia

0.062

Lao PDR

0.127

Malaysia

0.069

Myanmar0.186

Philippines

0.174

Singapore

0.187

Thailand

0.116

Viet Nam

0.211

ASEAN average

0.117

Source: Calculated from table 2.

Table 5. Export competitiveness index of computer services, 2005–2020
Country
Brunei Darussalam

2005–2010 Average

2011–2015 Average

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

0.00

-1.00

-1.00

-1.00

-0.96

-0.98

-0.90

Cambodia

-0.27

-0.91

-0.82

-0.86

-0.81

-0.24

-0.01

Indonesia

-0.64

-0.57

-0.73

-0.80

-0.73

-0.73

-0.68

Lao PDR

0.64

0.47

0.28

..

..

..

..

Malaysia

0.07

-0.02

-0.07

0.09

0.03

0.03

-0.03

Myanmar

..

0.10

-0.83

-0.68

-0.55

-0.80

-0.54

Philippines

0.85

0.84

0.86

0.86

0.81

0.78

0.77

Singapore

0.03

-0.18

-0.03

-0.06

0.07

-0.04

-0.05

Thailand

-0.85

-0.86

-0.83

-0.81

-0.79

-0.75

-0.54

Viet Nam

0.69

0.20

0.23

0.29

0.31

0.34

..

ASEAN average

0.06

-0.19

-0.29

-0.33

-0.29

-0.27

-0.25

Source: Calculated from tables 2 and 3.
Note: The export competitiveness index is defined as (Exports - Imports) / (Exports + Imports).

Box 1. The impact of COVID-19 on the computer services trade
Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the adoption of drastic measures
such as lockdowns and social distancing to reduce the pace of virus transmission. Even insocieties where most of the population is already vaccinated, governments still cannot reestablish “normal life”, given the emergence of mutations of the virus, such as the Delta
variant. Consequently, computer services became essential for allowing the exchange ofideas and information in societies and for maintaining connectivity and resiliency of global
value chains. Tasks such as remote work, distance learning, online shopping, telehealth,payments and transactions through the Internet, among others, were newly implemented orwere fully disseminated, opening new opportunities for the computer and related services
sector.
Observing the data for 2020 it is possible to grasp if and how computer services were affected
in ASEAN member states.

8Interestingly, for all countries the share of computer services in total services exports
increased, revealing the importance of the sector during the pandemic period. In the caseof imports, some countries have considerable reductions, such as Brunei Darussalam,
Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand, while other countries had small increases in values.
Once again the shares of computer services over total services imports increased for mostcountries, with Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand having minor decreases.

2. Mode 3: Commercial Presence
Table 6 shows estimated sales of computer and related services throughpresence (Mode3) (box 2). Unlike in Mode 1, in this mode all
2.commercial
Mode 3: Commercial
Presence
ASEAN member states recorded deficits in services trade (receipt being greater
than6 supply).
In otherwords,
the presence
foreigncompanies
in ASEAN
Table
shows estimatedsales
of computerand relatedofservices
throughcommercial
presence is
(Mode
3)
(box
2).
Unlike
in
Mode
1,
in
this
mode
all
ASEAN
memberstatesrecorded
deficits In
much larger than the ASEAN presence abroad for individual member states.
in services trade (receipt being greater than supply). In other words, the presence of foreignterms of the number of inward investments, Singapore attracted the largest
companies in ASEAN is much larger than the ASEAN presence abroad for individual member
number of investors, followed by Malaysia and Philippines (box 3). As for thestates. In terms of the number of inward investments, Singapore attracted the largest number ofsales value,
Singapore,and(boxPhilippinesarefaringOn theexportinvestors,
followedby Malaysia Malaysia
and Philippines3). As for the
salesvalue,well.
Singapore,
Malaysia
side,
Singapore
dominates
services
supplymarketabroadin computer
andPhilippines
are faring
well. On ASEAN’s
the export side,
Singapore
dominates
ASEAN’sservices
supplymarketabroad inservices.
computer and related services.
and related
Table 6. Estimated sales of computer-related services through foreign presence. 2015

Box 2. How to estimate services supply in Mode 3
Almost no developing countries compile foreign affiliate statistics. ASEAN
member states are no exception. The supply of computer and related services9

Box 2. How to estimate services supply in Mode 3
Almost no developing countries compile foreign affiliate statistics. ASEAN member states
are no exception. The supply of computer and related services and of other services throughcommercial presence must therefore be estimated from the sales of foreign affiliates
engaged in such services. The ASEAN-Japan Centre estimated this supply using the following
steps:(1) Identify foreign affiliates in each country by examining the lists of foreign companies
compiled from various sources, including Toyo Keizai’s database for Japanese affiliates in
ASEAN, Orbis and Who Owns Who databases for non-Japanese foreign affiliates in ASEAN
and individual foreign investment cases from Thomson One and the Financial Times’ fDi
Markets database.
(2) Because many of these identified foreign affiliates do not provide sales data, calculate theratio of sales to firm size based on affiliates that have information on both sales and firm
size (i.e. , capital size, asset size or investment size). To estimate sales, apply this ratio toaffiliates that at least have data on firm size.
(3) D o not include affiliates for which estimates of sales were not possible, effectively
assuming that they are small and do not affect the totality.
For sales by ASEAN affiliates abroad, the same estimation procedure is applied. In both
estimates (supply of services by foreign affiliates in ASEAN and supply of services by ASEAN
affiliates abroad), ASEAN-Japan Centre tends to underestimate because it includes only
those identified affiliates and only those whose main business is computer and related
services. Companies whose main business is not computer services can also provide suchservices. However, in the calculations for Mode 3, supply by this type of firms is not covered.

Table 7 shows foreign affiliates in ASEAN and ASEAN affiliates abroad in computer and related
services by source and destination country. Some 1,300 foreign computer services companies
operate in ASEAN, and close to 400 ASEAN computer services companies operate abroad. These
numbers are substantial, when compared with those of telecommunication services companies.
As for foreign direct investment into ASEAN, the dominant position of the United States in thenumber of affiliates and in estimated sales is clear. Europe and Japan follow the United States.
Although parent firms are large, many affiliates established in ASEAN are small. Some, such as
NTT Data, create networks in Asia to undertake joint development of software (box 4). Affiliatesfrom other ASEAN countries also show significant presence.

10

Box 4. A Japanese ICT company’s offshore development centers in Asia
NTT Data Global Technology Service Co., Ltd. Japan (NTT Data GTSJ), fully utilizes basesin Viet Nam and Myanmar, with a main focus on India. The company offers a softwaredevelopment system that is suitable for any project. It has software development centers inIndia (in six cities), Myanmar, Singapore, Viet Nam (in two cities) and Japan. More specifically,
development inandIndia
testingof VietsoftwareareThedonereduction
in Myanmar,
while design,costs
development
andundertaken
andNam.
of transaction(or servicetesting
are undertaken
in India
and ViettoNam.
The reductionof transaction(ordivide
service-in
linkcosts)
enables thecompany
contributeto decreasing
the costs
digital

ASEAN
softwaredevelopment.
link costs)inenablesthe company
to contribute to decreasing the digital divide in ASEAN insoftware development.

As for investment outflows from ASEAN (in terms of number of affiliates),

As for investment outflows from ASEAN (in terms of number of affiliates), ASEAN ranks first,
ASEAN ranks first, followed by Europe and the United States (table 7). In terms
followed by Europe and the United States (table 7). In terms of the number of ASEAN affiliatesof the number of ASEAN affiliates abroad, India and Hong Kong (China) holdabroad, India and Hong Kong (China) hold almost as many as Europe and the United States.
almostas investment
many as Europe
andUnited States. ASEAN firms’ investment in
ASEAN
firms’
in Japan isnottheas active.

Japan is not as active.

11

Table 7. F oreign affiliates in ASEAN and ASEAN affiliates abroad in computer and related
services, by source and destimation country

3. Modes 2 and 4: Consumption Abroad and Movement of Computer
Services
3. M
odes 2Staff
and 4: Consumption Abroad and Movement ofPurchasesof
repairservices by foreign residents visiting a supplier
Computercomputer
ServicesStaffcountry are recorded as exports of computer services in Mode 2 (consumption
abroad).
provided
self-employedworkers visiting
who travel
to a customer’s
PurchasesServicesof computerrepair byservicesby foreign residents
a suppliercountry arerecordedasexportsofcomputerservicesin
Mode2(consumption
abroad).
Services
provided In
bycountry are considered as exports in Mode 4 (movement of natural persons).
self-employed workers who travel to a customer’s country are considered as exports in Mode 4
theASEAN context, local engineers with computer-related skills could provide(movement of natural persons). In the ASEAN context, local engineers with computer-related skills
suchservices in Mode 2 or Mode 4. As such service suppliers are often affiliatedcould provide such services in Mode 2 or Mode 4. As such service suppliers are often affiliatedwithcompanies
andself-employed,
not self-employed,these could
transactions
could bepartto ofwith companies
and notthese transactions
be part of activities
relatedor
activities
relatedtoorincorporated
into
Mode
3
(supplyofservices
throughincorporated into Mode 3 (supply of services through commercial presence). For these reasons, nopublic data on computerandForrelatedservicesare available
in Modeor Mode4.
commercial
presence).
these
reasons,
no publicdata2 oncomputerand related
services are available in Mode 2 or Mode 4.
III.

Trade Agreements and Regulations among and in ASEAN Member
StatesThe ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS) is a progressive andcomprehensive service-related commitment that is a part of ASEAN members’
trade agreement. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP),

12

III. Trade Agreements and Regulations among andin ASEAN Member States
The ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS) is a progressive and comprehensive
service-related commitment that is a part of ASEAN members’ trade agreement. The Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), signed in November 2020, is another important
trade agreement involving all ASEAN member states and their five dialogue partners (Australia,
China, Japan, New Zealand and Republic of Korea). This section presents an overview of these twoservice-related agreements through indexation and categorization of the regulations used.
Table 8 shows the Hoekman index3 for computer and related services under AFAS (10th package,signed in November 2018). As shown, the ASEAN averages in Modes 1–3 are rather high.
Individually, most ASEAN member states are fully committed to this sector. This signifies that interms of market access and national treatment, computer and related services are already fairly
open. Mode 1 and Mode 2 exhibit the full scores in terms of liberalization in all countries. In Mode 3,
five countries (Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Philippines and Viet Nam)
have committed to full liberalization.

Table 8. Hoekman index of AFAS (10th package) commitments for computer and related
services
Mode 1Mode 2Mode 3

Brunei Darussalam

1.00

1.00

0.95

Cambodia

1.00

1.00

1.00

Indonesia

1.00

1.00

0.75

Lao PDR

1.00

1.00

1.00

Malaysia

1.00

1.00

1.00

Myanmar

1.00

1.00

0.50

Philippines

1.00

1.00

1.00

Singapore

1.00

1.00

0.80

Thailand

1.00

1.00

0.75

Viet Nam

1.00

1.00

1.00

ASEAN average

1.00

1.00

0.88

Source: AJC, calculated from the specific commitment tables of AFAS (10th package).
Note: AFAS (10th package) was signed in November 2018. In the index calculation, the least conservative interpretation of thespecific commitment tables is made. For example, when only the subsectors in the sector (computer and related services)
are liberalized (partially), the index values are given full scores and calculated as such.

3

Hoekman (1995) proposes an indexation method for measuring the GATS-style degree of commitment in theservices sector. The index takes a value between 0 and 1, with 0 referring to the most restricted situation and 1
being the most open. The method assigns values to each of eight cells (four modes and two aspects—market
access or national treatment) as follows: assign the value 1 for a sector that is “fully liberalized”, 0.5 for one
that is “limited (but bound)” and 0 for one that is “unbound” (government has not committed to liberalize) by
subsector, by mode and by aspect (market access or national treatment); take the simple average for aggregationand then calculate the average value by services sector and by country. The higher the figure, the more liberal
the country’s services trade commitments are to members of a free trade agreement. Using the database
constructed for this paper series, the Hoekman index is derived for each of 155 subsectors. Then the simple
average for the 11 sectors is calculated.

13

Table 9 shows the Hoekman index for ASEAN member states under RCEP. The agreement
combines positive and negative listings, depending on member country. Because the indexation
method can only be applied to positive listings, the table shows the results for those ASEAN
members that use positive listing. As the table shows, most countries are fully committed to full
liberalization in Mode 1; in Mode 2, all ASEAN members (with positive lists) are fully committed;
and in Mode 3, most ASEAN member countries are committed at a high level of liberalization,
albeit the average degree of commitment is a little less than that under AFAS (10th package).

Table 9. H
 oekman index of RCEP commitments by ASEAN member states for computerand related services
Mode 1Mode 2

Brunei Darussalam

NA

NA

Mode 3
NA

Cambodia

1.00

1.00

1.00

Indonesia

NA

NA

NA

Lao PDR

1.00

1.00

1.00

Malaysia

NA

NA

NA

Myanmar

1.00

1.00

0.80

Philippines

1.00

1.00

0.75

Singapore

NA

NA

NA

Thailand

0.85

1.00

0.75

Viet Nam

1.00

1.00

0.75

ASEAN average (Countries with positive lists only)

0.98

1.00

0.84

Source: AJC, calculated from the specific commitment tables of RCEP.
NA – not applicable due to negative listing
Note: R CEP was signed in November 2020. In the index calculation, the least conservative interpretation of the specificcommitment tables is made. For example, when only the subsectors in the sector (computer and related services) areliberalized (partially), the index values are given full scores and calculated as such.

Table 10 lists (together with Annex A) the type and frequency of policy regulations by ASEAN
members under AFAS (10th package). The following are some observations by country.
• Brunei Darussalam: Not much restriction is used; use of E (measures that restrict or require
specific type of legal entity) and F (limitations on the participation of foreign capital, with foreign
majority ownership allowed) is observed.
• Cambodia: The sector is fully liberalized for trade.
• Indonesia: E (measures that restrict or require specific type of legal entity) and F (limitations
on the participation of foreign capital) are used equally; as for F, a 49 per cent upper limit forforeign equity participation alone is used.
• Lao People’s Democratic Republic: The sector is fully liberalized for trade.
• Malaysia: The sector is fully liberalized for trade.
• Myanmar: E (measures that restrict or require specific types of legal entity) is the only policy
type used.
• Philippines: The sector is fully liberalized for trade.
• Singapore: This sector is already open (although its commitment table does not mention “other(services”).
• Thailand: Use of E (measures that restrict or require specific types of legal entity) and F

14(limitations on the participation of foreign capital) is dominant; as for F, 49 per cent and 70 per
cent limits on foreign equity are used.
• Viet Nam: The sector is fully liberalized for trade.

Table 10. Status of restrictions in computer and related services under AFAS (10thpackage)
E = measures
D = limitations
that restrict or
N = none/ no on the totalrequire specificlimitation
number oftype of legal
natural persons
entityBrunei Darussalam

29

0

1

F = limitations
on theparticipation offoreign capitalG = government U =approval
Unbound (norequirement
commitment)

1 (70%:1)000

Cambodia

30

0

0

0

0

Indonesia

25

0

5

5 (49%:5)00

Lao PDR

30

0

0

0

0

0

Malaysia

30

0

0

0

0

0

Myanmar

26

0

4

0

0

0

Philippines

30

0

0

0

0

0

Singapore

24

0

0

0

0

6

Thailand25

0

5

5 (49%:3; 70%:2)00Vietnam

30

0

0

0

0

0

Note: The way commitments are recorded differs across ASEAN members, hence the diversity in the number of N (no limitation);
only commitments defined under the GATS are counted.
Source: Calculated from each country’s specific commitment table under AFAS (10th package).

Table 11 lists the status of restrictions in computer and related services by country under RCEP
(see Annex B for the original specific commitment tables under RCEP). Country observations are
as follows:• Brunei Darussalam: Negative listing is applied.
• Cambodia: The sector is fully liberalized for trade, just as in the case of AFAS (10th package).
• Indonesia: Negative listing is applied.
• Lao People’s Democratic Republic: The sector is fully liberalized for trade, just as in the caseof AFAS (10th package).
• Malaysia: Negative listing is applied.
• Myanmar: E (measures that restrict or require specific types of legal entity) is the only type ofpolicy used, just as for AFAS (10th package).
• Philippines: E (measures that restrict or require specific types of legal entity) and F (limitations
on the participation of foreign capital) are used with the same frequency; as for F, 100 per centforeign ownership is allowed (on condition of compliance with the minimum paid-in equity
capital for domestic market enterprises).
• Singapore: Negative listing is applied.
• Thailand: F (limitations on the participation of foreign capital) is the only type of policy used; as
for limit on foreign equity, 70 per cent is dominant.
• Viet Nam: D (limitations on the total number of natural persons) is the only policy limitation
used.

15

Table 11. Status of restrictions in computer and related services under RCEP
E = measures
D = limitations
that restrict or
N = none/no on the totalrequire specificlimitation
number oftype of legal
natural persons
entityF = limitations
on theparticipation offoreign capitalG = government U =approval
Unbound (norequirement
commitment)

Brunei Darussalam

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

Cambodia

30

0

0

0

0

0

Indonesia

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

Lao PDR

30

0

0

0

0

0

Malaysia

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

Myanmar

26

0

4

0

0

0

Philippines

25

0

5

5 (100% on condition:5)00Singapore

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

Thailand24

00

5 (49%:1; 70%:4)

02

Vietnam

25

5

0

0

0

0

Note: NA—not applicable because of negative listing. The way commitments are recorded differs across ASEAN members, hence
the diversity in the number of N (no limitation); only those commitments defined under the GATS are counted.
Source: Calculated from each country’s specific commitment table under RCEP.

Clearly an important aspect of AFAS is its positive spillover effect for RCEP, involving ASEAN
member states and their dialogue partners (Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and theRepublic of Korea). Both agreements are rather similar, if not identical, in terms of commitments,
especially for computer and related services. The AFAS commitments might have served as a
useful reference point for ASEAN members in opening their market to the dialogue partners under
RCEP. This is desirable, because computer and related services are network oriented, rather thandomestic market oriented. Value chains with neighbouring countries and dialogue partners would
be indispensable for constant upgrading of technologies used in this technologically intensive
service sector. The use of RCEP, once it comes into effect, is expected to facilitate ASEAN member
states’ further value creation, not just for computer and related services, but also for other sectors
because of the infrastructural nature of the digital technologies/information technologies (IT)embedded in this sector.

16

IV. Impacts of Further Liberalization of Computerand Related Services on the Economy
1. Economic Impacts
Computer-related services are an essential input to any product, influencing the level of a
product’s market competitiveness. Products embodying more computer software such as
automobiles and electronic products are more competitive than other similar products. Game
software, a direct derivative of software development, is another product that can be sold at highprices. Computer-related services, both alone and in the use of another product, do affect thecompetitiveness of other products. The multiplier effects (which measure the overall impact of theeconomy due to one unit increase in the demand for computer and related services) range from
1.3 for Cambodia to 1.8 for Thailand and Singapore (figure 2). There are ripple effects on other
Thailand,Inwhich
has Thailand,
the largest
impactamong
memberstates,alsostates,has
industries.
particular,
which
has thelargestASEAN
impact among
ASEAN
membera relatively
smallamountoutputsand
and
value
(table12) andneedstoalso
has a relatively
smallamountofof outputs
value
addedadded(table 12)
and needs
measurespromoteinvestmentin thisinvestment
sector.
measuresto promotein this sector.

Figure 2. Multiplier effects of IT and other information services in ASEAN, 2015
Figure 2. Multiplier effects of IT and other information services in ASEAN, 2015

5
1
0
2

Source: AJC, based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Input-Output table database.
Source:AJC,database
based onforDemocratic
Economic
Co-operation
and Development (OECD) InputNote:
The OECD
doesthenotOrganisation
cover Lao People’s
Republic
and Myanmar.

Output table database.
Note: The OECD database does not cover Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar.
IT and other information services account for less than 1 per cent of ASEAN economies’ value
addedin ASEAN.
An investment inthis service
subsector
impact1 ofper
50 percent
in theIT andother information
services
account
forhaslessan thancentofmoreASEAN
overall economy than what is spent in this subsector, as the multiplier effects are more than 1.5 ineconomies’ value added in ASEAN. An investment in this service subsector has
half of ASEAN member states (figure 2). The productivity in this subsector is slightly lower than in
an impact of 50 per cent more in the overall economy than what is spent in thisthe overall economy. In other words, the ratio of value added to output in this subsector is slightly
subsector,
asoftheeffectsarethan 1.5
in halfof ASEAN
memberlower
than that
themultiplierwhole economy(table12).more
The largest
producercountry,
Singapore,has thestates lowest(figure2).ForThe
productivity
in thissubsector
is slightly
lowershould
than inthesecondratio.
thisand other countries
withlower ratios,
policy measures
includeoverall economy. In other words, the ratio of value added to output in thissubsector is slightly lower than that of the whole economy (table 12). The largest
producer country, Singapore, has the second lowest ratio. For this and other17greater engagement in value-creating computer software products and processing activities.

Table 12. V alue added and output of IT and other information services compared with allindustries, 2015 (millions of dollars and ratio)
IT and other information services

All industries

Country

Value added

OutputRatio of value
added to output

Value added

OutputRatio of value
added to output

Brunei Darussalam

16

25

0.64

13,17422,921

0.57

Cambodia

38

56

0.68

16,98430,075

0.56

Indonesia

2,247

4,306

0.52

833,734

1,635,254

0.51

Malaysia

2,930

6,445

0.45

292,523

763,255

0.38

Philippines

1,372

2,164

0.63

286,120555,126

0.52

Singapore

5,472

16,1260.34

275,238

770,936

0.36

Thailand

854

2,702

0.32

378,162

917,981

0.41

Viet Nam

903

1,578

0.57

175,692

570,060

0.31

ASEAN total

13,831

33,4000.41

2,271,628

5,265,607

0.43

Source: AJC, based on the OECD Input-Output table database.
Note: The OECD database does not cover Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar.

External factors may drive export competitiveness in computer and related services, e.g. , throughimports of key inputs from abroad. Foreign value added in exports provide such data (table 13).
Most ASEAN members listed have higher levels of foreign value-added content in their computerand related services exports than China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, ranging from 10 per
cent for Indonesia to nearly 34 per cent for Singapore. Only Japan uses few foreign inputs in theirexports, at 5 per cent. In other words, foreign input is dominant in ASEAN’s exports of computerand related services.

Table 13. F oreign value-added share of gross exports (to the world) for IT and otherinformation services, 2005–2015 (per cent)Country

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

ASEAN members
Brunei Darussalam

11

11

11

11

14

15

13

16

17

13

14

Cambodia

10

13

12

12

12

11

12

11

11

12

14

Indonesia

8

7

7

8

7

7

8

10

10

11

10

Malaysia

27

26

27

27

27

28

27

27

27

27

27

Philippines

21

25

19

17

15

15

12

14

12

11

14

Singapore

30

24

24

26

24

25

25

27

30

33

34

Thailand

34

34

33

35

32

32

33

33

32

32

31

Viet Nam

16

17

17

17

16

16

17

16

21

22

26

Memorandum
China

18

18

16

15

13

13

13

20

13

12

10

Japan

3

4

4

4

3

4

4

4

5

5

5

Korea, Republic of

14

14

13

15

15

15

17

17

17

16

16

Source: AJC, based on the OECD Input-Output table database.
Note: The OECD database does not cover Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar.

18

2. Need for Regulation
Considering the issue of why and when regulation is needed in computer and related services isworthwhile. Figure 3 categorizes four reasons for regulation. In the presence of perfect market
functioning, regulation would not be needed because the market does the business of matching
demand and supply at a fair price. In computer and related services that is not achievable because
emerging new technologies cause positive and negative externalities throughout the industry.
Positive externalities include de facto establishment of standards in new computer services (e.g. ,Internet phones and online businesses including e-commerce, gaming and chatting); negative
externalities involve coping with security concerns, including email spam and fraud on the Internet.
undertaken
at the same time, the ASEAN economy as a whole can move further
Fostering effective competition and protecting consumer interests while securing access to newup
the valueand
chain
curve
in reasons
figure 1).
impactis not easy to quantify
technologies
servicesare(asalsoshown
important
whyTheregulationis needed.

though,precisely because of the all-encompassing nature of computer andWhen regulations are retained and competition-promoting liberalization is undertaken at therelatedservices.
(i.e.,
computerchips
insame time,
the ASEANUbiquitous
economy as a technology
whole can movefurtherup the value
chain embedded
curve (as shown
virtually
allcommoditiesforgeographicaldetection)
andtheInternetofthings,in figure 1). The impact is not easy to quantify though, precisely because of the all-encompassingforinstance,wouldbusiness-related
and whollychangenatureof computer
andreduce
related services.
Ubiquitous transaction
technology (i.e.costs, computer
chips embedded
invirtually
allcommoditiesforgeographicaldetection)
andtheInternetofthings,forinstance,
the business landscape in manufacturing activities and logistics services in an as
would
reduce business-related
yet
unfathomablemanner. transaction costs and wholly change the business landscape inmanufacturing activities and logistics services in an as yet unfathomable manner.

Figure 3. Goals of regulation in computer and related services

V.

Policy Recommendations and Promotion Measures for Computerand Related Services

Promotional measures solely targeting trade in computer and related services
might not be the right focus, as the sector requires that telecommunication
facilities (including the Internet) allow such services. For example, digital/ICT
requires services from telecommunications and computer-related areas andliberalization in other subsectors. Combining telecommunication services andcomputer services in addressing policy issues would be more appropriate.
As most ASEAN member states have already liberalized trade in computer andrelated services and considering that such services require smaller-scale facilities
than telecommunication services (both are part of ICT services), implementing
workable promotional measures is important as a next step. Regulatory measures19

V. Policy Recommendations and Promotion
Measures for Computer and Related Services
Promotional measures solely targeting trade in computer and related services might not be theright focus, as the sector requires that telecommunication facilities (including the Internet) allow
such services. For example, digital/ICT requires services from telecommunications and computerrelated areas and liberalization in other subsectors. Combining telecommunication services andcomputer services in addressing policy issues would be more appropriate.

As most ASEAN member states have already liberalized trade in computer and related services
and considering that such services require smaller-scale facilities than telecommunication
services (both are part of ICT services), implementing workable promotional measures isimportant as a next step. Regulatory measures exist for computer and related services at theregional and multilateral levels, yet they are rather expected to promote cross-border trading
while avoiding market failures. Box 4 (the case of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement
for Trans-Pacific Partnership or CPTPP4) and box 5 (for the case of RCEP) provide examples ofregulations for promoting e-commerce.

Box 4. Facilitation and regulations on e-commerce under multilateral agreements:
The case of CPTPP
e-Commerce, which the GATS-style service classification does not cover, is a growing andimportant area pertinent to trade in computer services. Chapter 14 of CPTPP (or TPP [TransPacific Partnership] in the following legal text) provides useful key regulations:

Cross-border electronic data transfers. Article 14.11 requires each TPP party (government)
to allow the cross-border transfer of information, including personal information, byelectronic means, “when this activity is for the conduct of the business of a person”. Article
14.11 allows a party (government) to adopt or maintain a measure inconsistent with thisobligation only “to achieve a legitimate public policy objective”.
Ban on forced localization of computing facilities. Under Article 14.13, no party (government)
may require a person to use or locate computing facilities in that party’s territory as acondition for conducting business in the territory.
Ban on requiring transfers of source code. Article 14.17 prohibits any party (government)from requiring the transfer of, or access to, software source code as a condition for theimport, distribution, sale or use of such software, or products containing such software, inthe party’s territory.
Customs duties on electronic transmissions. Article 14.3 prohibits parties (governments)from imposing customs duties on cross-border electronic transmissions, including content,
between citizens of the various TPP countries. This commitment largely follows the4

The following 11 parties signed CPTPP (also known as TPP11) in March 2018: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile,
Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Viet Nam (note that the United States is not included,
while the country was a negotiating member of the original Trans-Pacific Partnership).

20

moratorium on e-commerce customs duties agreed among WTO members in 1998. Article
14.3, however, does not preclude parties from imposing internal taxes, fees or other charges
on “content transmitted electronically”, provided such measures are imposed in a mannerconsistent with TPP.

Non-discriminatory treatment of digital products. Article 14.4 prohibits a party (government)from providing less favourable treatment to digital products and the creators and owners of
those digital products, of other parties than it accords to “other like digital products”.
Access to the Internet for e-commerce. Article 14.10 secures the benefit of consumers’ability to access and use online services and applications of their choice and to connect thedevices of their choice to the Internet.

Box 5. Facilitation and regulations on e-commerce under multilateral agreements:
The case of RCEP
Computer services can promote cross-border electronic commerce, which has a promising
scope with and after the COVID-19 crisis. Following is an excerpt from Chapter 12—Electronic
Commerce under RCEP.
Article 12.5: Paperless Trading
1. Each Party shall: (a) work towards implementing initiatives which provide for the use of
paperless trading, taking into account the methods agreed by international organisations
including the World Customs Organization;
Article 12.6: Electronic Authentication and Electronic Signature 1. Except in circumstances
otherwise provided for under its laws and regulations, a Party shall not deny the legal validityof a signature solely on the basis that the signature is in electronic form.
Article 12.11: Customs Duties 1. Each Party shall maintain its current practice of not
imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions between the Parties.
Article 12.14: Location of Computing Facilities 1. The Parties recognise that each Party
may have its own measures regarding the use or location of computing facilities, including
requirements that seek to ensure the security and confidentiality of communications.

ASEAN, in the context of computer and related services (including telecommunication services),has released a road map—the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025 (ADM 2025)—that is expected
to be implemented from 2021 to 2025. Promotion of trade in digitally enabled services should
be undertaken in line with ADM 2025 5. The technology trends up to 2030, mentioned in themasterplan, are as follows.
• Internet will continue to be present in its current form and evolve to provide a wide range ofCloud services.
• AI will be very powerful in specific problem areas.

5

For details, see ASEAN Secretariat (2015).

21• Connectivity has mostly reached the point of delivering all people need where it isgeographically available.
• Big data are valuable in delivering new insights through data analytics.
• Virtual reality will remain niche, but augmented reality might play a larger role.
• Robotics are currently widely used in manufacturing autonomous vehicles and will evolve
slowly and have limited impact by 2025.
• The Internet of things will deliver productivity gains and better working devices.
• Three-dimensional printing could substantially reduce time to market of new products.
Along with these technological trends, concrete promotional measures for ASEAN member states
could be considered. In view of their socioeconomic status, the promotional measures should
cover four areas:
1. Database construction for trade in digital/ICT services (because detailed statistical information
on digital/ICT–related trade is lacking)
2. Addressing of the digital divide in the form of either Mode 2 trade or capacity building as
economic cooperation (as ASEAN member states seem to be divided in terms of digital/ICT
utilization)
3. Participation of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) (the majority of ASEAN-based
firms)
4. Implementation of digital/ICT farming applications (because ASEAN member states are locatedmainly in tropical areas where unique agri-based businesses can prosper).
More specifically, the proposed measures and policies could include the following focal points. For(1), database construction for trade in digital/ICT services, information on digital/ICT–based tradeis rather limited because most international digital/ICT–related transactions take place insidecompanies, in diverse and rather confidential forms. International and/or regional organizations(including the ASEAN-Japan Centre) in cooperation with the relevant agencies of ASEAN member
states could launch a concrete pilot project to understand and measure the business modality andprice level of digital/ICT–related trade. This type of bottom-up project implementation is expected
to lead to the establishment of a broader-scale database on ASEAN-wide digital/ICT trade in all
four modes.
On (2), addressing of the digital divide in the form of either Mode 2 trade or capacity building as
economic cooperation, relevant workshops could be organized to highlight how the digital divide
happens: Both the lack of physical digital/ICT facilities and the lack of knowledge on how to usethem effectively can contribute to the digital divide. In such workshops (including the seminarorganized by the ASEAN-Japan Centre in February 2017 for ASEAN), information exchange onthese two aspects could occur. As the trade policy framework for digital/ICT is already fairly open,
the important point would be to start small and grow later; in this sense, the implementation ofsmall-scale workable projects is as important as meticulous but rather time-consuming planning.
Importantly, the process itself could also be facilitated by utilizing digital/ICT–based offshoring of
inputs in Mode 1.
Concerning (3), participation of SMEs, indigenous companies—especially those based in Brunei
Darussalam, Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar—could be invited toworkshops where they could receive necessary ICT-related training (which could be seen as Mode
2 import of digital/ICT services).
Regarding (4), implementation of digital/ICT farming tools could be applied, for example, on22growing tropical plants for food or medicinal use. Digital/ICT–based technology can be useful formonitoring the growth of such plants. Database construction and analyses of business potential
along the value chain (i.e. , where to export and how much to sell) and, more upstream, agri-based
research and development using digital/ICT technologies (e.g. , DNA coding of tropical plants toincrease yields at the time of harvesting) could be undertaken by utilizing digital/ICT facilities.
Concrete pilot projects could be launched in this respect to raise awareness.
The concrete promotional measures described are fully in line with ADM 2025, hence pilot projects
could be formulated closely with the masterplan. Especially in the context of COVID-19, ADM 2025
produces desired outcomes (DOs) as follows.

DO1 Actions of ADM 2025 prioritized to speed ASEAN’s recovery from COVID-19
1.1 Make the economic case for prioritizing ADM 2025 actions
1.2 Assess the economic case for facilitating use of digital services that would help recovery fromthe COVID-19 pandemic
DO2 Increase in the quality and coverage of fixed and mobile broadband infrastructure
2.1 Encourage inward investment in digital and ICT
2.2 Move towards best practice permission and access rights for local and national infrastructure,including submarine cable repair
2.3 Facilitate adoption of region-wide telecommunications regulation best practices by market
players to provide regulatory certainty
2.4 Ensure adequate international Internet connectivity
2.5 Reduce the carbon footprint of telecommunications operators in ASEAN
2.6 Ensure increased and harmonized spectrum allocation across the region
2.7 Adopt regional policy to deliver best practice guidance on AI governance and ethics, Internet ofthings spectrum and technology
2.8 Develop regional mechanisms to encourage skills in integrated and end-to-end services
2.9 Establish a centre of excellence for best practice rural connectivity
DO3 The delivery of trusted digital services and the prevention of consumer harm
3.1 Enable trust through greater and broader use of online security technologies
3.2 Build trust through enhanced security for finance, health care, education and government
3.3 Identify improvements in legal and regulatory measures on the management of protection ofdata and other data-related activities that could be harmful
3.4 Improve coordination and cooperation for regional computer incident response teams
3.5 Promote consumer protection and rights in relation to e-commerce
DO4 A sustainable competitive market for the supply of digital services
4.1 Continue to identify opportunities to harmonize digital regulation to facilitate cross-border dataflows
4.2 Deepen collaboration between ICT and competition regulatory authorities across ASEAN on the
ICT sector and digital economy23

4.3 Monitor developments in regulation of digital platforms in other jurisdictions
DO5 Increase in the quality and use of e-government services
5.1 Establish ASEAN-wide reporting on the level of use of e-government services in line with
International Telecommunications Union requirements
5.2 Help make key government departments more productive through their internal use of ICT ande-services
5.3 Explore how to introduce digital identities in each ASEAN member state (AMS) in a way thatsafeguards civil liberties
5.4 Help developing AMSs improve the quality of their e-government e-services
5.5 Improve the cohesion of AMSs by making key government e-services interoperable across theASEAN region
DO6 Digital services to connect business and to facilitate cross-border trade
6.1 Facilitate compliance and secure the benefits of telecommunications services and electroniccommerce in line with relevant ASEAN trade agreements
6.2 Support trade digitalization through seamless and efficient flow of electronic trade documents(e.g., invoices) and goods within ASEAN
6.3 A ssess the net benefits of including Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0 technologies in tradefacilitation processes
6.4 Reduce regional business travel costs by lowering roaming rates for mobile data services
across ASEAN
6.5 Promote e-commerce trade in ASEAN, enhance last-mile fulfilment cooperation, and improve
competitiveness in the digital economy
DO7 Increased capability for business and people to participate in the digital economy
7.1 Continue to support the advancement and harmonization of ICT qualifications across ASEAN
7.2 Promote development of advanced digital skills, such as coding, hackathons and innovative
challenges
7.3 Develop a framework that encourages the development and growth of digital start-ups in
ASEAN
7.4 Progress the work on smart cities begun in AIM 2020
DO8 A digitally inclusive society in ASEAN
8.1 Ensure citizens and businesses have the skills and motivation to use digital services
8.2 Reduce affordability barriers to getting online
8.3 Reduce accessibility barriers to getting online
8.4 Encourage deeper adoption and use of “vertical” digital services

With respect to a post-COVID-19 policy stance informed by what is called “theory of the firm”, table
14 lists the stage of regional integration under differing economic situations and desirable policy
directions.

24

Table 14. Stage of regional integration and policy options
Stage of regional integration Economic situation

Desirable policy direction

Stage AIf a local ASEAN firm is entirely responsible for the
return of the asset, the firm should own it.

Separate, local business
operations are desirable. Thisis the policy option fit for preASEAN Economic Community
before 2015.

Stage BIf managing two firms results in an economy of scale/scope, these firms should have a common ownership(albeit in the absence of business transactions).

Policy to facilitate mergers
should be adopted, creating adomestic selection effect.

Stage CIf a downstream ASEAN-based firm is supplied byits upstream firm through a global value chain (GVC)
but with a small degree of trade volume (or business
transactions), a non-equity mode, long-term contract
relationship should exist between the two firms for
efficient operations (in terms of managerial capacities
and principal-agent incentives).

Policy to facilitate cross-borderbusiness transactions should
be adopted, creating a crossborder learning effect.

Stage D (with/after
COVID-19)

If the industry is declining in terms of market demand,the firms should merge to save on overhead costs (inconnection to headquarter functions, including adoptionof emerging digital technologies)

Policy to facilitate crossborder mergers of digital /ICT firms could be adopted,
creating intra-ASEAN digital
breakthroughs.

Source: Made by the authors based on Williamson (1985), Hart (1991) and Urata and Baek (2021).

As in the table, four stages of policy directions can be conceptualized in connection to the degreeof regional integration by ASEAN. The focus here is Stage D, i.e ., with/after COVID-19. Computerand related services as an input industry (supplying application software products as intermediate
inputs for manufacturing and service-supplying firms) is declining overall in the face of COVID-19.
As smaller-scale firms, which possess entrepreneurial spirit, tend to face relatively higher
overhead costs (e.g. , fixed-asset tax, utility bills and insurance costs, aside from direct production
costs), reduction of these indirect costs would become a top priority. In this situation, integrating (ormerging) existing companies would be better; considering the dynamically changing advancementof computer-related technologies (including 5G and 6G telecommunication standards that enablewidespread use of network-connected non-telephone devices across society), cross-borderintegration between ASEAN firms and those outside ASEAN countries (including Australia, China,
Japan, New Zealand and Republic of Korea, i.e. , ASEAN’s trade partners under RCEP) would
be a feasible policy option. When security of in-house technology becomes a sensitive issue,
a non-equity mode alliance with some degree of technological cross-licensing under a longterm contract would be another desirable option for business firms in the computer and related
services sector.

From the perspective of GVCs, digital technologies as computer services can facilitate
manufacturing and other service activities spanning multiple ASEAN and non-ASEAN countries.
Benefits of GVCs include the following: They (1) optimize global allocation of production resourcesand greatly increase the productivity and market value of companies in developed countries;(2) encourage developing countries to participate in the international production system andcreate domestic employment (including skilled and unskilled labor, according to the comparativeadvantage of the country) and help economic development through technology transfer; (3)enable consumers to obtain a wide variety of foreign products at low prices and (4) contribute tostabilizing international relations, increasing cross-border communication and reducing the risk25

of mutual distrust6. Thus, post-COVID-19 recovery for ASEAN members should be pursued with agreater degree of participation in GVCs.
In connection with concrete promotional measures, representatives of ASEAN member states
discussed and provided various policy options to promote trade in ICT services at the second
Seminar on Promoting Services Trade in ASEAN Member States (for telecommunication services
and computer and related services specifically) on 23–25 February 2017. Box 6 details a list ofpolicy options suggested by ASEAN member state representative at the seminar.

Box 6. Policy options suggested by ASEAN member state representatives forpromoting trade in telecommunication services and computer and related
services
These policy options are categorized along the most updated list of ICT indicators approvedby the International Telecommunications Union.7 To ensure anonymity, names of member
states are intentionally not disclosed.

(1) ICT infrastructure and access• Affordable connectivity nationwide• Reduced roaming charges• Reduced cost of Internet for public and/or end users; increased speed of Internet lines
and reduced tariff and non-tariff barriers that inhibit Internet trade among ASEAN
countries• Harmonized domestic and international legislation• Establishment of market competition at an affordable price• Strong policy for liberalization of telecommunication market• Infocomm Media 2025 plan, which seeks to address shortcomings related toinfrastructure and access• A new economic model aimed at pulling the country out of the middle-income trap anddeveloping it as a high-income country• Three elements that mark a significant change in a country’s economy and production:° The first aims to enhance the country’s standing to become a high-income nation
through developing as a knowledge-based economy, with an emphasis on researchand development, science and technology, creative thinking and innovation.
° The second moves towards an inclusive society with equitable access to prosperity
and development.
° The third focuses on sustainable growth and development, without destroying theenvironment.

6
7Remark by Satoshi Inomata (https://www.rieti.go.jp/jp/events/bbl/20051501.html).
ITU, “Core List of ICT Indicators, March 2016 Version”, http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/
coreindicators/Core-List-of-Indicators_March2016.pdf.

26• Tight management of service prices• Consideration of this area as the core sector to encourage• Acceleration of the application of ICT in government management systems• Digital economy and society development plan consisting of six strategic actions asfollows:° Build country-wide high-capacity digital infrastructure° Boost the economy with digital technology° Create a quality and equitable society through digital technology° Transform into digital government° Develop workforce for the digital era° Build trust and confidence in the use of digital technology.

(2) ICT access and use by households and individuals• Establish regional e-commerce platform• Build a national digital payment system• Build trust and confidence through data security, data protection and privacy• Provide free Wi-Fi in public areas• Get more involvement from housewives, students and the rural population• Establish universal service obligation policy• Establish telecommunication plan
• Establish licensing for permission for telecommunication and/or Internet service
providers and operators• Ensure transparency in licensing procedures• Strengthen services introduction to local households and individuals through free public
services channels (telephone, Internet, TV, cable, etc. )• Prepare a digital economy and society development plan.

(3) ICT access and use by enterprises• Increase awareness of ICT benefits to businesses; e.g ., cloud computing• Encourage businesses to have extranet services• Establish regional e-commerce platform• Provide subsidies for exportation of ICT products and services• Facilitate exports• Promote use of fintech• Build a national digital payment system27• Build trust and confidence through data security, data protection and privacy• Provide affordable, fast and reliable connectivity• Improved performance of supporting enablers such as logistics, digital banking andoffline banking• Prepare ICT master plan
• Establish law and regulations regarding e-commerce and cyber security• Follow practices such as System, Applications and Product and Enterprise Resource
Planning• Encourage the use of ICT in every sector• Expand scope for improvement by building stronger digital capabilities for enterprises,
especially among SMEs; prepare digital economy and society development plan andquickly publish laws and circulars on e-commerce transactions, IT and intellectual
property.

(4) ICT sector and trade in ICT goods• Development of attractive investment incentives for foreign ICT companies, experts andvalue chains in focus areas:° Incentives for research and development in focus areas° Embassy assistance to facilitate trade° Establishment of shared innovation facilities° Business matching programs in focus areas° Establishment of technology and knowledge transfer system° Introduction of Industry 4.0 program° Seeking of opportunities in global value chains° Promotion of innovative local and foreign start-ups• Universal categorization system for ICT goods that enables accurate data collection andsupports comparative and qualitative analysis• Standardization of ICT goods• Export promotion in ICT goods• Government encouragement of the ICT sector• Cooperation that harmonizes government and private sector efforts• Building of stronger digital capabilities for trade, especially among SMEs
• Strengthening of international cooperation (experts exchange, training seminars,
exhibition, business matching and so on).

28(5) ICT in education• Increase science, technology, engineering and mathematics passing rate
• Produce Industry 4.0–ready workforce• Promote e-learning• Improve ICT services for education as early as from secondary school (for governments)• Increase usage and appreciation of ICT as a tool in education• Provide e-library in every school, especially in primary schools, through cooperation withministries and government• Provide multimedia classroom facilities in school and universities• Reduce the digital divide between urban and rural areas• Beyond young students, support continual workforce skills upgrading through the Skills
Future movement, which provides re-training programs to equip citizens of all ages withskills relevant to the future economy• Consider pricing subsidy for the education sector• Encourage sponsorship for local and remote area.

(6) ICT in government• Enhance marketing of the country’s value propositions to investors and experts• Enhance open data platform• Improve e-government services• Continually improve ICT skills for government employees in various sectors• Implement according to the e-government master plan
• Promote cooperation between line ministries and other related fields• Develop human resources in ICT fields to nurture ICT-skillful persons• Improve cyber security to develop deeper capabilities in analytics and to strengthen
engagement with citizens via online and mobile platforms• Implement Digital Government Master Plan (2016–2018).

(a) Database construction for trade in ICT services• Set up committee to enhance existing online business registration platform• Gather baseline data
• Improve technology and human resources and build capacity• Establish a secured framework and infrastructure of personal data protection• Promote digital trade and data security principles• Improve data compilation at the company level and compile data from micro companies

29• Establish cyber law• Make enhanced cyber security a best practice with the cooperation of ASEAN anddialogue partners• Establish a national ICT web portal• Promote digital trade• Establish data security principles• Establish network security best practices• Build country-wide high-capacity digital infrastructure• Build trust and confidence in the use of digital technology• Strengthen data and network security capacity.

(b) A ddressing of the digital divide in the form of capacity building as economic
cooperation• Enhance capacity-building programs for micro companies and SMEs
• Strengthen capacity building between ASEAN and Japan• Develop ICT human resources and promote e-service delivery• Promote and/or encourage economic cooperation activities in business contract
negotiations (after-sales capacity-building work programs that allow for technology
transfer)• Develop human resource development to nurture skillful ICT persons• Provide ICT infrastructure• Promote ICT awareness through seminars and workshops to close the digital divide• Address digital divides• Develop smart cities• Track new technology trends• Build country-wide, high-capacity digital infrastructure• Create a quality and equitable society through digital technology• Ensure inclusive and equal access to digital technology• Develop digital literacy and/or media and information literacy• Create local digital content and knowledge resources• Provide education opportunities with digital technology• Increase access to health care with digital technology.

(c) Participation of SMEs
• Support and facilitate the exportation of innovative ICT products and services

30• Provide embassy assistance to facilitate trade• Provide holistic outreach programmer for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises(MSMEs) on free trade agreements• Include MSMEs in policy and regulatory reforms• Expose MSMEs to participation in capacity-building programs within ASEAN, Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation, etc.
• Nurture and provide access and framework for start-ups• Harmonize regulations, broadband access and affordability, interoperability andinfrastructure resilience best practices• Establish measures to enable the security of the supply chain; measures that encourage
cost-efficiency in the available ICT infrastructure—competitive rates and fast service• Recognize the importance of SMEs, which are the core of national economic development• Promote the SMEs sector by using ICT that can benefit national economic development• Provide e-commerce platform that can encourage SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs inbusiness development and market penetration• Prepare systematic road map for SMEs
• Nurture ICT products and services trade• Enhance infrastructure resilience with best practices• Establish Cloud computing platform• Raise capacity and competitiveness in all economic sectors with digital technology,
including agriculture, manufacturing and services, with a strong focus on SMEs andcommunity businesses• Boost the economy with digital technology• Create and foster digital technology start-ups• Promote more SMEs in agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors to leverage
digital technology to compete regionally and globally• Create policies to lower roaming charges• Publish law on SME support• Build competitiveness capacity (seminars, training workshops and international
experiences exchange)• Support SMEs in trade promotion and market access information.

(d) Implementation of ICT farming• Public-private-people partnership with Japan on innovative farming solutions by local
universities• Learning from countries with best practices, especially Japan31• Equipment of remote areas with ICT facilities• Sustainable and green ICT practices• Limited ICT farming, which requires measures to increase awareness of ICT in selectedstrategic segments (e.g. , aquaculture)• Need to promote awareness of ICT farming through seminars, exhibitions and television
programs• Support for round-the-clock continuous electricity• Financial support by government and development partners from internationalorganizations• Sustainable and green ICT practices• Supportive ecosystem development• Strong focus on SMEs and community business to raise capacity and competitiveness inall economic sectors with digital technology, including agriculture, manufacturing andservices• Invitation to international farming expert to introduce and train on ICT applications infarming• Publication of new policies to support farmers in applying ICT to production processes
and daily life
• Encouragement of ICT providers to build up particularly favourable subscriptions forfarmers• Building of a mechanism to accelerate ICT enterprises to develop new farming
applications.

Services drive productivity growth and require both fixed investment in building and in digital/
ICT technologies (ASEAN and the World Bank, 2015). Utilizing digital/ICT technology for ASEANwide productivity improvement is a cross-cutting policy issue and not just for a single line ministrymandated to cover ICT services. A major hindering factor for most ASEAN member states atpresent seems to be the low level of in-country and international coordination to capture digital/
ICT–based network externalities. An ASEAN-wide implementation of concrete projects could belaunched, possibly coordinated by international organizations and led by ASEAN member states.
Further, implementing digital/ICT–related activities would not only contribute to intra-ASEAN
promotion of trade in digital/ICT services but also effectuate the use of RCEP among ASEAN
member states and their dialogue partners (Japan included). Although technological advancesin computer and related services normally overwhelm the effectiveness of policy-driven
productivity improvement, policymakers in ASEAN member states have much to do to capture
the technological advances in computer and related services, a highly promising market for trade
expansion.

32

References
ASEAN Secretariat. (2015). “ASEAN ICT Masterplan 2015 Completion Report”. Available at http://
www.asean.org/storage/images/2015/December/telmin/ASEAN%20ICT%20Completion%20
Report.pdf.

ASEAN and the World Bank. (2015). “ASEAN Services Integration Report: A Joint Report by the
ASEAN Secretariat and the World Bank”. World Bank, Washington, DC, USA.

Hart, O. (1991). “Incomplete Contracts and the Theory of the Firm”. Chapter 9 in Oliver E.
Williamson and Sidney G. Winter (eds), The Nature of the Firm: Origins, Evolution, andDevelopment . Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Hoekman, B. (1995). “Assessing the General Agreement on Trade in Services”. World Bank
Discussion Paper No. 307, World Bank, Washington, DC, USA.

Urata, S., and Y. Baek. (2021). “Does GVC Participation Improve Firm Productivity? A Study of Three
Developing Asian Countries”. ADBI Working Paper Series No. 1245, Asian Development Bank
Institute, Tokyo.

Williamson, O. (1985). The Economic Institutions of Capitalism: Firms, Markets, Relational
Contracting . New York: Free Press.

World Bank and International Telecommunication Union. (2011). Telecommunications Regulation
Handbook, Tenth Anniversary Edition . Available at https://www.infodev.org/infodev-files/
resource/InfodevDocuments_1057.pdf.

33

Annexes:Specific Schedule of Commitments for “Computerand Related Services” Under AFAS (10th package,signed in November 2018) by ASEAN Members andUnder RCEP (Signed in 2020) by ASEAN Members
and Their Five Dialogue Partners
Note: Only tables for ASEAN members are included here.

Legend for these annexes:(1) means Mode 1 (cross-border supply of services); (2) means Mode 2 (consumption abroad);(3) means Mode 3 (commercial presence); and (4) means Mode 4 (movement of natural
persons).
MA means market access; NT means national treatment.
The meaning of the alphabetical classification in the right-hand column of each specificcommitment table is as follows:
N: none (no restriction)
A: limitations on the number of service suppliers, whether in the form of numerical quotas,
monopolies, exclusive service suppliers or the requirements of an economic needs test
B: limitations on the total value of service transactions or assets in the form of numericalquotas or the requirement of an economic needs test
C: limitations on the total number of service operations or on the total quantity of service
output expressed in terms of designated numerical units in the form of quotas or therequirement of an economic needs test8
D: limitations on the total number of natural persons who may be employed in a particularservice sector or who a service supplier may employ and who are necessary for, anddirectly related to, the supply of a specific service in the form of numerical quotas or therequirement of an economic needs test
E: measures that restrict or require specific types of legal entity or joint venture throughwhich a service supplier may supply a service
F: limitations on the participation of foreign capital in terms of maximum percentage limit on
foreign shareholding or the total value of individual or aggregate foreign investment” (Part
III: Specific Commitments, Article XVI: Market Access, subparagraph 2).

8

Subparagraph 2(c) does not cover measures of a member that limit inputs for the supply of services.

34

Under AFAS, ASEAN member states do not actually use restriction types A, B and C in the
sector “Computer and Related Services”. In addition to these six types of market-access
restrictions, the following two restrictions are observed:
G: Government approval requirement
H: Tax or fee payment requirement.

35

Annex A.
Specific Commitment Tables for Computer andRelated Services Under AFAS (10th package)
Brunei Darussalam
Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
Treatment
NT

B. Computer andRelated Services(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N

Consultancy
services related tothe installation ofcomputer hardware(CPC 841)(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(3) None(3) N(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) EF70(3) Commercial
presence ispermitted only
through a company
that is registered in
Brunei Darussalamwith foreign equity
not exceeding 70%.

(3) None(3) N(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(3) None(3) N

Sector or Subsector

Softwareimplementation
services (CPC 842)
Data processing
services (CPC 843)
Database services(CPC 844)

Maintenance andrepair services ofoffice machinery andequipment including
computers (CPC 845)
Other computer
services (CPC 849)

36

Cambodia
Sector or Subsector

Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
TreatmentNT

B. Computer and Related Services(1) None(a) Consultancy
services related to(2) Nonethe installation ofcomputer hardware (3) None
(CPC 841)(b) Software
implementation
services (CPC 842)(c) D ata processing
services (CPC 843)(d) D atabase services(CPC 844)(e) O ther (CPC
845+849)(1) N(1) None

(1) N

(2) N

(2) None

(2) N

(3) N

(3) None(3) N

Indonesia
Sector or Subsector

Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
TreatmentNT

B. Computer and Related Services
Consultancy
services related tothe installation ofcomputer hardware(CPC 841)(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) Aggregate foreign (3) EF49
equity participationis permitted up
to 70% provided
that up to 49% isthrough foreign
direct investment
and the remaining
per centage
through othermechanisms(3) None(3) N

Softwareimplementation
services (CPC 842)

(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(3) Aggregate foreign (3) EF49
equity participationis permitted up
to 70% provided
that up to 49% isthrough foreign
direct investment
and the remaining
percentage throughother mechanisms

37

Sector or Subsector
Input preparation
services (CPC 84310)

System analysis
services (CPC 84320)

Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
TreatmentNT(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) Joint venture withforeign equity
participation notexceeding 70%(3) EF70(3) None(3) N(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N
Time sharing services (3) O nly through a locally (3) EF49
(CPC 84330)
incorporated jointventure corporation
Other data processingin the form of Limited
services (CPC 84390)
Liability Enterprise(Perseroan Terbatas/PT) with Indonesian
individuals or
Indonesian-controlled
corporations or bothand the aggregate
foreign shareholdingin the joint-venturecorporation shall not
exceed 49%
Sector or Subsector
Database services(CPC 84400*)

Maintenance andrepair services ofoffice machinery andequipment including
computers (CPC 845)

(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N

Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
TreatmentNT(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) Aggregate foreign (3) EF49
equity participationis permitted up
to 70% provided
that up to 49% isthrough foreign
direct investment
and the remaining
percentage throughother mechanisms(3) None(3) N(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) None

(3) N

(3) O
 nly through a locally (3) EF49
incorporated jointventure corporationin the form of Limited
Liability Enterprise(Perseroan Terbatas/PT) with Indonesian
individuals or
Indonesian-controlled
corporations or bothand the aggregate
foreign shareholdingin the joint-venturecorporation shall not
exceed 49%

38

Sector or Subsector
Other computer
services (CPC 849)

Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
TreatmentNT(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(3) EF49(3) Only through a
locally incorporated
joint-venturecorporation in theform of Limited
Liability Enterprise(Perseroan
Terbatas/PT)
with Indonesian
individuals or
Indonesiancontrolled
corporations
or both and theaggregate foreign
shareholding in
the joint-venturecorporation shallnot exceed 49%

Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
TreatmentNT

B. Computer andRelated Services(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N

Consultancy
services related tothe installation ofcomputer hardware(CPC 841)(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(3) None(3) N

Sector or Subsector

Softwareimplementation
service (CPC 842)
Database services(CPC 844)
Data processing
services, excluding
sensitive data andfor non-commercial
purpose(CPC 843)
Other:
Maintenance andrepair services ofcomputer(Part of CPC 84500)

39

Malaysia
Sector or Subsector

Limitation on Market
Access(1) None
B. Computer andRelated Services(2) Nonea. Consultancy
services related to (3) None
the installation ofcomputer hardware(CPC 841)
b. Software
implementation
service (CPC 842)
c. Data processing
services (CPC 843)
d. Database services(CPC 844/84400)
e. Other•Maintenance andrepair services ofoffice machineryand equipment
including
computers (CPC845)
•Data preparation
services fromclients not
involving dataprocessing
services (CPC
84910)•Other computer
services notelsewhereclassified (CPC
84990**):- Covering training
services for staff
of clients; data
recovery services
and developmentof creative
content.

A–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
TreatmentNT(1) N(1) None

(1) N

(2) N

(2) None

(2) N

(3) N

(3) None

(3) N

40

Myanmar
Sector or Subsector

Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
TreatmentNT

B. Computer and Related Services(1) None(1) N
a. Consultancy
services related to(2) None(2) N
the installation of(3) Ecomputer hardware (3) Commercial
presence of foreign(CPC 841)
service suppliersb. Software
and/or providers
implementation
are permitted inservices (CPC 842)
accordance with
System andthe Myanmar
software consulting
Investment Law
services (CPC 8421)(2016) of the
System analysis
Republic of theservices (CPC 8422)
Union of Myanmar.
System design
The investment
services (CPC 8423)
may be carried
Programmingout in any of theservices (CPC 8424)
following forms:
Systemi.	Carrying out
maintenancean investment
services (CPC 8425)
by a foreignerwith 100%c. Data processing
foreign capital
services (CPC 843)
on the businessInput preparation
permitted by theservices (CPC 8431)
Commission
Data processing andii.	Carrying out atabulation services
joint venture(CPC 8432)
between aTime-sharing
foreign andservices (CPC 8433)
a citizen or
Other data
the relevant
processing services
government(CPC 8439)
department andorganizationiii.	Carrying out
by any system
contained in
the contract
approved by bothparties.

(1) None.

(1) N(2) None.

(2) N(3) a. F oreign service (3) DE
suppliers and/or providers
must comply
with existinglaws, rules andregulations
concerninginvestment,
taxation,
immigration andlabour.
b. F oreignorganizations
and persons
are not allowed
to own land
in Myanmar;
however, land
may be on longterm lease,depending on
the individual
circumstances.

41

Sector or Subsector

Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
Treatment
NT

Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
TreatmentNTd. Database services(CPC 844)
e. Other(CPC 845, CPC 849)
Maintenance andrepair services ofoffice machinery(CPC 845)
Other computer
services (CPC 849)
Data preparation
services (CPC 8491)
Other computer
services (CPC 8499)
System integration
services softwaredevelopment
services

Philippines
Sector or Subsector

B. Computer and Related Services
Consultancy
services related tothe installation ofcomputer hardware*(CPC 841)(1) None.

(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None.

(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) 100% foreign equity (3) N
participation isallowed.

(3) None((3) N

Softwareimplementation
services (CPC 842)**(1) None.

(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None.

(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) 100% foreign equity (3) N
participation isallowed.

(3) None(3) N

Data processing
services (CPC 843)

(1) None.

(1) N(1) None(1) N

Database services(CPC 844)(2) None.

(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) 100% foreign equity (3) N
participation isallowed.

(3) None(3) N

Others(CPC 845, CPC 849)

42

Singapore
Sector or Subsector

Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
Treatment
MA

B. Computer-Related Services
Consultancy
services related tothe installation ofcomputer hardware(CPC 84100)(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(3) None(3) N

Softwareimplementation
services (CPC 842)

(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(3) None(3) N

Information
technology
consultancy services(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(3) None(3) N

Data processing
services(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(3) None(3) N

Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
TreatmentNT(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(3) None(3) N(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(3) None(3) N

Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
Treatment
NT

Sector or Subsector
Database services(CPC 84400)

Maintenance andrepair services ofcomputers

Thailand
Sector or Subsector

B. Computer and Related Services(a) Consultancy(1) None
services related to(2) Nonethe installation ofcomputer hardware (3) As indicated in 3.3of the horizontal(CPC 841)
sectionHardwareconsultancy
services (CPC
Version 1.1: part of
83141)(1) N(1) None

(1) N

(2) N

(2) None(2) N(3) EF49(3) None(3) N(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) As indicated in 3.1of the horizontal
section(3) EF70(3) None

(3) N

43

Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
TreatmentNT(b) Software
implementation
services (CPC 842)

(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) As indicated in 3.3of the horizontal
section(3) EF49(3) None(3) NS oftware
consultancy
services (CPC
Version 1.1: part of
83142)(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) As indicated in 3.1of the horizontal
section(3) EF70(3) None

(3) N

(c) D
 ata processing(1) None
services (excluding(2) Nonethose provided(3) As indicated in 3.3
over publicof the horizontal
telecommunications
sectionnetwork) (CPC 843)

(1) N

(1) None

(1) N

(2) N

(2) None(2) N(3) EF49(3) None(3) ND(1) None ata processing
services (excluding(2) Nonethose provided(3) As indicated in 3.1
over publicof the horizontal
telecommunications
sectionnetwork) (CPC
Version 1.1: 85960)(1) N(1) None

(1) N

(2) N

(2) None(2) N(3) EF70(3) None(3) N

Sector or Subsector

Sector or Subsector

Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
TreatmentNT(d) D atabase services(1) None(excluding those(2) None
provided over public
telecommunications (3) As indicated in 3.1of the horizontal
network) (CPC 844)
section(1) N(1) None

(1) N

(2) N

(2) None(2) N(3) EF70(3) None(3) N(e) Other computer
services:(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) As indicated in 3.1of the horizontal
section(3) EF70(3) None(3) N

Limitation on Market
AccessA–H Classification of Limitation on National A–H Classification ofMA
Treatment
NTMaintenance andrepair services ofoffice machineryand equipment
including
computers (CPC
84500)

Viet Nam
Sector or Subsector

Computer and related (1) None
(1) N
services (CPC 841–
(2) None(2) N
845, CPC 849)(3) None, branching is (3) N
allowed.

(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N

Source: https://cil.nus.edu.sg/databasecil/2018-protocol-to-implement-the-tenth-package-of-commitments-under-the-aseanframework-agreement-on-services/44

Annex B.
Specific Commitment Tables or Reservation
Tables for Computer and Related Services Under
RCEP
Brunei Darussalam
12. Sector: Business Services

Subsector: Computer and Related Services

Type of Obligation: National Treatment (Article 8.4 and Article 10.3) Market Access (Article 8.5)

Description of Measure : Trade in Services and Investment
A foreign national or enterprise may not provide computer and related services througha commercial presence unless they are ordinarily resident in Brunei Darussalam andthrough an enterprise established in Brunei Darussalam.
Source of Measure: Companies Act (Chapter 39)

Authority for Info-Communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam Order,
2001
Administrative Measures and Guidelines

Cambodia
Sector or Subsectora) Consultancy
services related tothe installation ofcomputer hardware(CPC 841)b) Software
implementation
services (CPC 842)c) Data processing
services (CPC 843)d) Database services(CPC 844)e) Other (CPC 845 +
849)

Limitations on Market A–H Classification ofAccessMA

Limitations on
National Treatment

A–H Classification ofNT(1)None(1) N(1)None(1) N(2)None(2) N(2)None(2) N(3)None(3) N(3)None(3) N(4) Unbound except
as indicated in
the horizontal
commitments(4) U(4) Unbound except
as indicated in
the horizontal
commitments

(4) U

45

Indonesia
17. Sector: Computer and Related Services

Subsector: Consultancy Services Related to the Installation of Computer Hardware (CPC 841)

Type of Obligation: National Treatment (Article 8.4) Market Access (Article 8.5)

Description: Trade in Services
Indonesia reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure with respect to trade inservices as defined in subparagraph (r)(i) of Article 8.1 (Definitions).
Indonesia reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure with respect to trade inservices as defined in subparagraph (r)(iii) of Article 8.1 (Definitions) that require supply
through commercial presence to be in the form of joint operation requirement througha representative office in Indonesia and the domestic partner must be a member of an
Indonesian consultant association.

18. Sector: Computer and Related Services

Subsector: Software Implementation Services (CPC 842) only for CPC 84210

Type of Obligation: National Treatment (Article 8.4) Market Access (Article 8.5)

Description: Trade in Services
Indonesia reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure with respect to trade
in services as defined in subparagraph (r)(iii) of Article 8.1 (Definitions) that requires
supply through commercial presence to be subject to following conditions:(a) only through a locally incorporated joint venture corporation in the form of Limited
Liability Enterprise (Perseroan Terbatas ) with Indonesian individuals or Indonesiancontrolled corporations or both;(b) shall apply to foreign services supplier with capital value above IDR 100 billion, andinvestment value above IDR 15 billion; and(c) the domestic partner must be member of Indonesian consultant association.

19. Sector: Computer and Related Services

Subsector: Database Services (CPC 844) only for advance database services

Type of Obligation: National Treatment (Article 8.4) Market Access (Article 8.5)

Description: Trade in Services
Indonesia reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure with respect to trade inservices as defined in subparagraph (r)(i) of Article 8.1 (Definitions).
Indonesia reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure with respect to trade
in services as defined in subparagraph (r)(iii) of Article 8.1 (Definitions) that requires
supply through commercial presence to be subject to following conditions:(a) only through a locally incorporated joint venture corporation in the form of Limited
Liability Enterprise (Perseroan Terbatas ) with Indonesian individuals or Indonesiancontrolled corporations or both and joint venture with domestic ownership of thedata;(b) shall apply to foreign services supplier with capital value above IDR 100 billion, andinvestment value above IDR 15 billion; and(c) the domestic partner must be member of Indonesian consultant association.

46

20. Sector: Computer and Related Services

Subsector: Maintenance and Repair Services of Office Machinery and Equipment Including
Computers (CPC 845)

Type of Obligation: National Treatment (Article 8.4) Market Access (Article 8.5)

Description: Trade in Services
Indonesia reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure with respect to trade inservices as defined in subparagraphs (r)(i) and (r)(iii) of Article 8.1 (Definitions).
Any non-conforming measure adopted or maintained after the entry into force of thisAgreement in relation to the paragraph above shall be deemed to be an existing nonconforming measure and subject to paragraph 1 of Article 8.8 (Schedules of NonConforming Measures).

Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Sector or Subsector
NT computer andrelated services (CPC84)

Malaysia
No listing

Limitations on Market A–H Classification ofAccessMA

Limitations on
National Treatment

A–H Classification ofNT(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(3) None(3) N(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in thehorizontal section(4) U(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in thehorizontal section

(4) U

47

Myanmar
Sector or Subsector

Limitations on Market A–H Classification ofAccessMA

Limitations on
National Treatment

A–H Classification of
NT

(1) N

(1) None

(1) N

(2) N

(2) None

(2) N

(3) N

(3) None

(3) N

(4) D
(4) Subject to
Myanmar’s
Schedule in Annex
IV (Schedulesof SpecificCommitments
on Temporary
Movement of
Natural Persons),
which complies
with the provisionsof existing rules
and regulations and
ENT will be applied
to all categories ofnatural persons, if
necessary(4) Subject to
Myanmar’s
Schedule in Annex
IV (Schedulesof SpecificCommitments
on Temporary
Movement of
Natural Persons),
which complies
with the provisionsof existing rules
and regulations(4) D(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) Subject tocompliance withthe provisions ofexisting rules andregulations(3) E(3) None(3) N(4) Subject to
Myanmar’s
Schedule in Annex
IV (Schedulesof SpecificCommitments
on Temporary
Movement of
Natural Persons),
which complies
with the provisionsof existing rules
and regulations(4) Da) Consultancy(1) None
services related to(2) Nonethe installation ofcomputer hardware (3) None, subject tocompliance with
(CPC 841)
the provisions ofexisting rules andregulationsa) Software
implementation
services (CPC 842)
• System andsoftwareconsulting
services (CPC8421)
• System analysis
services (CPC8422)
• System design
services (CPC8423)
• Programming
services (CPC8424)
• System
maintenanceservices (CPC
8425)

(4) D
(4) Subject to
Myanmar’s
Schedule in Annex
IV (Schedulesof SpecificCommitments
on Temporary
Movement of
Natural Persons),
which complies
with the provisionsof existing rules
and regulations and
ENT will be applied
to all categories ofnatural persons, if
necessary

48

Limitations on Market A–H Classification ofAccessMA

Limitations on
National Treatment

A–H Classification ofNTh) Data processing
services (CPC 843)
• Input preparation
services (CPC8431)
• Data processing
and tabulation
services (CPC8432)
• Time-sharing
services (CPC8433)
• Other dataprocessing
services (CPC8439)(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) Subject tocompliance withthe provisions ofexisting rules andregulations(3) E(3) None

(3) N

(4) D
(4) Subject to
Myanmar’s
Schedule in Annex
IV (Schedulesof SpecificCommitments
on Temporary
Movement of
Natural Persons),
which complies
with the provisionsof existing rules
and regulations and
ENT will be applied
to all categories ofnatural persons, if
necessary(4) Subject to
Myanmar’s
Schedule in Annex
IV (Schedulesof SpecificCommitments
on Temporary
Movement of
Natural Persons),
which complies
with the provisionsof existing rules
and regulations(4) Dd) Database services(CPC 844)(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) Subject tocompliance withthe provisions ofexisting rules andregulations(3) E(3) None(3) N(4) Subject to
Myanmar’s
Schedule in Annex
IV (Schedulesof SpecificCommitments
on Temporary
Movement of
Natural Persons),
which complies
with the provisionsof existing rules
and regulations(4) D

Sector or Subsector(4) D(4) Subject to
Myanmar’s
Schedule in Annex
IV (Schedulesof SpecificCommitments
on Temporary
Movement of
Natural Persons),
which complies
with the provisionsof existing rules
and regulations and
ENT will be applied
to all categories ofnatural persons, if
necessary49

Sector or Subsector

Limitations on Market A–H Classification ofAccessMA(1) None(1) N(a) Other (CPC 845,
849)(2) None(2) N(i)	Maintenance(3) Subject to(3) E
and repair
compliance withservices of office
the provisions ofmachinery (CPC
existing rules and845)
regulations(ii)	Other computer
services (CPC(4) D(4) Subject to849)
Myanmar’s• DataSchedule in Annex
processing
IV (Schedules
services (CPCof Specific8491)
Commitments• Otheron Temporary
computerMovement ofservices (CPC
Natural Persons),
8499)
which complies• Systemwith the provisions
integrationof existing rules
servicesand regulations and• Software
ENT will be applied
development
to all categories ofservices
natural persons, if

Limitations on
National Treatment

A–H Classification ofNT(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(4) Subject to
Myanmar’s
Schedule in Annex
IV (Schedulesof SpecificCommitments
on Temporary
Movement of
Natural Persons),
which complies
with the provisionsof existing rules
and regulations(4) D

Limitations on
National Treatment

A–H Classification ofNT(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in
the horizontal
commitments(4) U

necessary

Philippines
Sector or Subsector

Limitations on Market A–H Classification ofAccessMAa) Consultancy(1) None.
(1) N
services related to(2) None.
(2) N
the installation ofcomputer hardware (3) Up to 100% foreign (3) EF40
equity is allowed(CPC 8410)
provided that theminimum paid-in
equity capital fordomestic market
enterprises iscomplied with.
Otherwise, only
up to 40% foreign
equity is allowed.
Limitations listed
in the horizontal
commitments shallalso apply.
(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in
the horizontal
commitments.

(4) U

50

Sector or Subsector

Limitations on Market A–H Classification ofAccessMA(1) None.
(1) Nb) Software
implementation(2) None.
(2) N
services (CPC 8420)(3) Up to 100% foreign (3) EF40
- Systems andequity is allowed
softwareprovided that theconsulting
minimum paid-inservices (CPC
equity capital for
8421)
domestic market- Systems design
enterprises isservices (CPCcomplied with.
8423)
Otherwise, only- Programming
up to 40% foreign
services (CPC
equity is allowed.
8424)
Limitations listed
in the horizontal
commitments shallalso apply.

c) Data processing
services (CPC 843),
including gamedevelopment

Limitations on
National Treatment

A–H Classification ofNT(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in
the horizontal
commitments.

(4) U(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in
the horizontal
commitments(4) U(1) None.

(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None.

(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) Up to 100% foreign (3) EF40
equity is allowed
provided that theminimum paid-in
equity capital fordomestic market
enterprises iscomplied with.
Otherwise, only
up to 40% foreign
equity is allowed.
Limitations listed
in the horizontal
commitments shallalso apply.

(3) None(3) N(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in
the horizontal
commitments.

(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in
the horizontal
commitments

(4) U

(4) U

51

Sector or Subsectord) D atabase services(CPC 844)

Limitations on Market A–H Classification ofAccessMA

Limitations on
National Treatment

A–H Classification ofNT(1) None.

(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None.

(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) Up to 100% foreign (3) EF40
equity is allowed
provided that theminimum paid-in
equity capital fordomestic market
enterprises iscomplied with.
Otherwise, only
up to 40% foreign
equity is allowed.
Limitations listed
in the horizontal
commitments shallalso apply.

(3) None(3) N(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in
the horizontal
commitments.

(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in
the horizontal
commitments(4) U(1) Unbound(1) U(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(4) Unbound

(4) U

(4) U

e) O
 ther computer(1) None.
(1) N
related services(2) None.
(2) N(CPC 849), including
online games except (3) Up to 100% foreign (3) EF40
equity is allowed
betting or gambling
provided that theminimum paid-in
equity capital fordomestic market
enterprises iscomplied with.
Otherwise, only
up to 40% foreign
equity is allowed.
Limitations listed
in the horizontal
commitments shallalso apply.
(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in
the horizontal
commitments

(4) U

52

Singapore
42. Sector: All

Subsector: -Industry Classification: -Type of Reservation: Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment (Article 8.6 and Article 10.4)

Description: Trade in Services and Investment:
Singapore reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure that accords differential
treatment to countries under any bilateral or multilateral international agreement inforce or signed prior to the date of entry into force of this Agreement.*
Singapore reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure that accords differential
treatment to Member States of ASEAN under any international agreement in force orsigned after the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
Singapore reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure that accords differential
treatment to countries under any international agreement in force or signed after thedate of entry into force of this Agreement involving:
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.

aviation matters, including air services;maritime and services auxiliary to maritime matters; and port matters;
land transport matters;
postal and courier services matters;
telecommunications and information technology matters;
electronic commerce matters; andenvironmental matters.

* For greater certainty, the wording in this paragraph extends to any differential
treatment accorded to a country pursuant to a subsequent review or amendment of
the relevant bilateral or multilateral agreement mentioned in this paragraph.
Existing Measure

: -

53

Thailand
Sector or Subsector

Limitations on Market A–H Classification ofAccessMAa) Consultancy(1) None(1) N
services related to(2) None(2) N
the installation ofcomputer hardware (3) As indicated in 3.3 (3) F70
of the horizontal(CPC 841)
section (foreign
equity participationmust not exceed
70% of theregistered capitalor unless otherwise
specified in the
sector-specificcommitments)- Hardware
consultancy
services (CPC
Version 1.1:
83141**)b) Software
implementation
services (CPC 842)

- Software
consultancy
services (CPC 1.1:
83142**)

Limitations on
National Treatment

A–H Classification ofNT(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in thehorizontal section(4) U(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in thehorizontal section(4) U(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) As indicated in 3.3of the horizontal
section(3) F70(3) None(3) N(4) Unbound(4) U(4) Unbound(4) U(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) As indicated in 3.3of the horizontal
section(3) F70(3) None(3) N(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in thehorizontal section(4) U(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in thehorizontal section(4) U(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3)As indicated in 3.3of the horizontal
section(3) F70(3) None(3) N(4) Unbound(4) U(4) Unbound

(4) U

54

Sector or Subsector

Limitations on Market A–H Classification ofAccessMA

Limitations on
National Treatment

A–H Classification ofNT(1) Nonec) Data processing
services (excluding(2) Nonethose provided(3) As indicated in 3.3
over publicof the horizontal
telecommunications
sectionnetwork) (CPC 843)

(1) N

(1) Unbound

(1) U

(2) N

(2) None(2) N(3) F70(3) None(3) N(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in thehorizontal section(4) U(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in thehorizontal section(4) U(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) As indicated in 3.3of the horizontal
section(3) F70(3) None(3) N(4) Unbound(4) U(4) Unbound(4) Ud) Database services (1) None(excluding those(2) None
provided over public
telecommunications (3) As indicated in 3.3of the horizontal
network) (CPC 844)
section(1) N(1) None

(1) N

(2) N

(2) None(2) N(3) F70(3) None(3) N(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in thehorizontal section(4) U(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in thehorizontal section(4) U(1) None(1) N(1) None(1) N(2) None(2) N(2) None(2) N(3) As indicated in 3.3of the horizontal
section(3) ***(3) None(3) N(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in thehorizontal section

(4) U

(4) U
 nbound, except
as indicated in thehorizontal section

(4) U

-D
 ata processing
services (excluding
those provided
over public
telecommunications
network) (CPC
Version 1.1: 85960)e) O ther computer
services:- Software training
services for staff
of clients (part of
CPC 849)

55

Sector or Subsector

Limitations on Market A–H Classification ofAccessMA

Limitations on
National Treatment

A–H Classification ofNT(1) Unbound(1) U(2) None(2) N(3) None(3) N(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in thehorizontal section(4) U

Limitations on
National Treatment

A–H Classification of
NT

(1) N

(1) None.

(1) N

(2) N

(2) None.

(2) N

(3) N

(3) The chief of the
branch has to bea resident of Viet
Nam.

(3) D

(4) U

(4) U
(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in Viet
Nam’s Schedule inAnnex IV (Schedulesof SpecificCommitments
on Temporary
Movement of
Natural Persons).

(1) None(1) N- Maintenance andrepair services of(2) None(2) N
office machinery(3) As indicated in 3.1 (3) EF49
and equipment,of the horizontal
including computerssection (foreign(CPC 845)
equity participationmust not exceed
49% of theregistered capitalor unless otherwise
specified in the
sector-specificcommitments;
and the numberof foreign
shareholders mustbe less than half ofthe total number ofshareholders)(4) Unbound, except
as indicated in thehorizontal section(4) U

Viet Nam
Sector or Subsector

Limitations on Market A–H Classification ofAccessMA

Computer and Related (1) None.
Services (CPC 841–
(2) None.
845, CPC 849)(3) None.
Branching isallowed.
(4) Unbound, except
as indicatedin Viet Nam’s
Schedule in Annex
IV (Schedulesof SpecificCommitments
on Temporary
Movement of
Natural Persons).

Source: RCEP website (https://rcepsec.org/legal-text/).

ISBN 978-4-910293-47-9