Investment Laws of ASEAN Countries: A comparative review

This report provides a comparative review of the investment laws across the 10 ASEAN member states, examining their functions, their relationship to broader regulatory frameworks, and how they differ from investment treaties regarding investor rights and arbitration.

• Investment laws are not universal across ASEAN member states, and where they exist, they may be fragmented by function. Singapore is noted as the most successful ASEAN country in attracting foreign investment despite lacking an investment law. In other states, multiple laws serve distinct purposes; for instance, Malaysia's Promotion of Investment Act focuses on incentives, whereas Thailand's Foreign Business Act focuses on restrictions and conditions for foreign investment.
• Investment laws represent only a small portion of the overall legal and regulatory regime governing investment, meaning they cannot be evaluated in isolation from the wider framework.
• ASEAN investment laws differ fundamentally from investment treaties, particularly regarding investor rights and arbitration. No ASEAN country provides general consent to investor–state arbitration within its investment law, though some allow it via specific agreements. Furthermore, most do not include vague investor rights; only the Myanmar Investment Law (2016) guarantees "fair and equitable treatment" (FET), though it defines the term differently than investment treaty tribunals.

APA

Bonnitcha,, J. (2017). Investment Laws of ASEAN Countries: A comparative review. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/investment-laws-asean-countries-comparative-review

Chicago

Bonnitcha,, Jonathan. Investment Laws of ASEAN Countries: A comparative review. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2017. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/investment-laws-asean-countries-comparative-review.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bonnitcha, |first1=Jonathan |title=Investment Laws of ASEAN Countries: A comparative review |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=12 December 2017 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/investment-laws-asean-countries-comparative-review |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bonnitcha2017investment, author = {Bonnitcha,, Jonathan}, title = {{Investment Laws of ASEAN Countries: A comparative review}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2017}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/investment-laws-asean-countries-comparative-review}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }