PRODUCT REGISTRATION TIMEFRAME* for BASIC COSMETICS

•  Exporter's data refers to the time required by the brand manufacturer to prepare and legalise the documents prior to the start of the registration process.

•  Importer's data refers to the time required by the local distributor to submit the documents and complete product registrations, assuming the documents provided by the exporter are correct and comply with local regulation.

• *Data does not reflect the product registration processing time based on the best case scenario but the actual overall average timeframe observed during several recent product registration processes undertaken by different companies.

less than

1 month

SINGAPORE

THAILAND​

BRUNEI

MALAYSIA

between

1 to 3 months

CAMBODIA

LAOS

MYANMAR

PHILIPPINES

more than

3 months

VIETNAM

INDONESIA

FAQ

who should

register?

The selected importer/distributor must register your products prior to import and commercialisation.

This requirement is common to all ASEAN countries.

The local importer will be liable for the safety and compliance of your products at a local level.

registration

costs?

Registration costs of cosmetic 

products vary from country to country and range between $15 to $150 per product (when an agency is involved).

Agencies are often a preferred option as registrations tend to be faster and more accurate.

are registrations

transferable?

Yes, they are, in most countries.

​

In many cases, when you want to transfer the appointment to another importer/distributor, it is sufficient to re-register the products. Make contact with local FDA for further information.

ECONOMIC SCENARIO - General Overview

•  Population  &  Nominal GDP per capita  are based on International Monetary Fund's estimates.

•  GINI index  is based on World Bank's most recently available data.

• Nominal GDP has been preferred to Purchasing Power Parity GDP since the import / export trade is subject and limited to the nominal value of the local currency.

• GINI index measures the income or wealth distribution of a nation's residents. With GINI index tending to range between 0.24 and 0.49, low values indicate high levels of equality and high values indicate high levels of inequality. (Learn more)

THE BIGGEST

populations

INDONESIA

PHILIPPINES

VIETNAM

THAILAND

THE WEALTHIEST

countries

SINGAPORE

BRUNEI

MALAYSIA

THAILAND

THE MOST UNEQUAL

economies

MALAYSIA

SINGAPORE

PHILIPPINES

BRUNEI

IMPACT OF IMPORT TAX & SALES TAX on landed cost

• The above chart provide an overview of the landed cost of goods by country after factoring in shipping cost & insurance, import tax and sales tax.

  • For instance, when an Italian company sells $1 product to a Thai Importer / Distributor, the landed costs of that good become $1.452 after reaching Thailand.

•  Import tax  &  Sales tax  (e.g VAT, GST, etc.) refer to a goods classified under the category "body wash" (HS code: 33049990). Import tax for different product categories may differ according to their HS codes.

•  Assumption  Shipping cost & Insurance account for 10% of the value of the goods.

•  Import tax  is calculated on the CIF value (cost of goods, insurance, freight) of the goods. 

•  Sales tax  is calculated on the CIF value + Import tax of the goods.

•  Landed cost  is calculated as follows

  • Costs of​ goods: $10.000

  • Insurance & Freight: $1.000

  • CIF Value: $11.000

  • Import tax (e.g 20%): CIF value x 20% = $11.000 x 20% = $2.200

  • Sales tax (e.g. 10%): (CIF value + Import tax) x 10% = ($11.000 + $2.200) x 10% = $13.200 x 10% = $1.320

  • Landed cost: CIF value + Import tax + Sales tax = $11.000 + $2.200 + $1.320 = $14.520

NO IMPORT TAX

countries

MALAYSIA

SINGAPORE

NO SALES TAX

countries

BRUNEI

HIGH TAX BURDEN

countries

CAMBODIA

PHILIPPINES

VIETNAM

RETAIL SCENARIO - Analysis of modern trade (chain of pharmacies & drugstores)

• One of the most interesting elements to analyse export opportunities in the developing ASEAN economies is the structure of the health & beauty modern trade, specifically chains of pharmacies and drugstores.

• Unlike traditional trade (i.e. stand-alone pharmacies) through which stand-alone retailers serve the low-end market, modern trade tend to focus on more high-end products, making it the most relevant channel for imported products.

• In the above graph, we have highlighted in  dark purple  the international retail chains that adopt the most advanced retail practises (e.g. Guardian, Watsons, Boots, etc.). Those retail chains are likely to be the best marketplace for your products.

  • Example: In Indonesia​ modern trade features a cumulative number of over 2747 stores, however only retailer #04 (i.e. Guardian) and retailer #05 (i.e. Watsons) are suitable channel for imported high-end products.

• Another element of interest is the ratio* between the population and the cumulative number of modern trade stores, which provide an indicator of the potential for:

  • expansion of existing retail chains

  • new entry of local or foreign retail chains​​

​

* Ratio: Population / Stores of LAOS (where no modern trade chain operates) has been deliberately modified to equalise data of Cambodia, in order to facilitate data reading and visual representation.

HIGHLY FRAGMENTED

modern trades

MALAYSIA

THAILAND

VIETNAM

HIGHLY CONCETRATED

modern trades

BRUNEI

SINGAPORE

PHILIPPINES

HIGH POTENTIAL

modern trades

THAILAND*

MALAYSIA*

PHILIPPINES

INDONESIA

​

* Thailand & Malaysia markets are characterised by many locally manufactured products with high quality standards.

MARKET SIZES & CAGR - General Overview

•  Market sizes*  refer to "body wash" category only and are represented as relative value vs Italy's market size (Italy = 100%). Italy features the largest market (value) despite Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand having a considerably larger population. This may be attributed to a combination of factors such as lower unit product value, lower product consumption rate and underestimation of the actual value of traditional trade, that characterise developing markets.

•  CAGR**  is the forecasted compound annual growth for the period 2019 - 2024 and identifies Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnamm Myanmar as the fastest growing markets.

​

* Market sizes data for Laos and Brunei are not available.

** CAGR data for Italy, Laos and Brunei are not available.

THE BIGGEST

markets

INDONESIA

PHILIPPINES

THAILAND

VIETNAM

THE FASTEST GROWING

markets

INDONESIA

PHILIPPINES

VIETNAM

MYANMAR

MARKET PRIORITISATION MATRIX

• The above matrix is based on a weighted scorecard that factors in the following data:

  • For  Fiscal & Regulatory easiness 

    • Import Tax & Sales Tax burden (for "Body wash" category)

    • Re​gulatory requirements (for "Basic cosmetics" category)

    • Product registration time-frame (for "Basic cosmetics" category)

    • Political stability

    • Business impartiality

  • For  Large-scale distribution expansion rate & accessibility ​​

    • Modern trade vs Traditional trade ratio

    • Large-scale distribution expansion rate

    • Large-scale distribution fragmentation

    • Large-scale distribution access cost (i.e listing fees & trading costs)

    • Presence of international retail chains

    • Presence of international brands vs local brands

  • For  Market potential ​​

    • Population

    • Population growth rate

    • Nominal GDP per capita

    • Nominal GDP per capita growth rate

    • Income inequality index​

    • Market sizes (for "Body wash" category)

    • Market sizes growth rate (for "Body wash" category)