Strengthening and connecting the dots called MSMEs in the ASEAN: With focus on the Philippines

With the ASEAN\u27s current initiative towards regional market integration, the small-and-medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippines - one of the major economic growth drivers in the country sees a potential opportunity for a considerable increased market access and a tremendous growth. For the country to become a major player in the ASEAN market and in the regional production networks, the smaller businesses must be ready to face the challenges and opportunities the economic integration brings. Thus, the paper aims to lay-out factors that are critical to the development of our local SMEs in terms of firm characteristics, investment climate, finance and current reforms which are essential to understanding the competitiveness and opportunities that the industries may seize. The regression analysis of the firms from the World Bank Enterprise Survey showed that access to credit, use of technology communication and years of experience of the managers have the greater likelihood of becoming a good market player in the ASEAN