ABSTRACT
The implications for policy decisions are clear for ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) members in the context of supply chain management. In applying supply chain finance, it is imperative for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member governments to encourage the supply chain finance efforts of their indigenous small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by effectively nurturing policies, such as developing more effective micro-finance support plans, creating favourable interest policies, and taking other measures which can promote the development of creative SEMs in AEC. However, supply chain finance, which adopts extensive distinguishing information, occurs not between borrowers and lenders but among whole supply chain networks. Supply chain networks' initial aim of fostering each member's cooperation along the pipeline could help SMEs to access funds, as the firms in the supply chain can gain more benefits from network effects with the increasing social communication among them.
