Barter Trade In The IMT-GT Is Big Business With Good Prospects

Ever heard of barter trade? It’s the exchange of one good for another of equal value, without hard cold cash being the middleman. You can be excused if you thought barter trade was only practiced in the middle ages – as did some professionals we spoke to for their opinion – but the truth of the matter is that the barter trade industry between Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand is thriving and is already worth several billion US dollars annually. Some barter ports in the IMT-GT region are even frequented by traders from Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Several reports and conferences have been conducted in recent years to study and promote the barter trade industry in the IMT-GT, including by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Malaysia’s Economic Planning Unit. The general consensus is that the industry is growing well, and with the right incentives and support, it has the potential to generate substantial economic benefits for Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

In our 5 th issue, FOCUS IMT-GT presents a comprehensive overview of the barter trade industry in the IMT-GT region, including a review of the ADB’s study on barter trade, as well as the views and opinions of major barter trade players in the IMT-GT region.