Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said that Indonesia's preparations for the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in late 2015 are currently for 78 percent completed. The AEC aims to enhance regional economic integration among the ASEAN member states. It will transform the ASEAN region into one with free movement of goods, services, investment, and skilled labour, as well as a freer flow of capital. Most important is to develop Indonesia's infrastructure in order to foster connectivity, thus reducing logistics costs.

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Regarding car sales in the ASEAN region, Indonesia still trails behind Thailand according to recent data from the ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF). In the first two months of 2013, Thailand's car sales increased 51.9 percent (YoY) to 255,727 car units, while Indonesia's car sales only increased 22.7 percentage points to 199,974 vehicles. Thailand controls about 43.5 percent of the ASEAN region's sales market. Indonesia comes in on second place with 34.0 percent market share.

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