The 34-year old ASEAN Federation of Textile Industries (AFTEX) is now formally incorporated as a not-for-profit organization thanks to the assistance of VALUE, a USAID-funded project managed by Nathan Associates. AFTEX may now open a bank account, generate revenue, and sign contracts. VALUE consulted with ASEAN Chambers of Commerce, the ASEAN Secretariat, and lawyers to determine the most appropriate legal structure and country of registration, and assisted with registration in Singapore.

Speaking at an AFTEX council meeting on January 14, 2011, Chairman Mr. Ade Sudradjat says that VALUE’s “assistance is of very great significance to the real economic integration of ASEAN textiles and apparel.” Indonesia’s Minister of Industry H.E. Mohamad S. Hidayat, who opened the meeting, asserted that the sector closest to integration among ASEAN Member States thanks to three programs initiated by VALUE and AFTEX: Source ASEAN Full Service Alliance (SAFSA), the ASEAN Common Competency Program (ACCP), and the SourceASEAN.com information portal.

Since its founding in 1977, AFTEX has represented the interests of Southeast Asia’s textile and apparel manufacturers,developing positions on trade policies, promoting intra-ASEAN trade in textiles and apparel, and raising the profile of the region’s garment industry. As an informal organization, AFTEX served ASEAN well at a time when import quotas in major markets guaranteed every source market a share of the garment trade. In 2008, it began working with VALUE to help ASEAN’s textile and apparel industry meet the competitive challenges of the post-quota era. Formal incorporation marks the advance of AFTEX as a longstanding and serious advocate for the sector across ASEAN.

More information about AFTEX, SAFSA, and ACCP is available at www.SourceASEAN.com.