Tuesday August 22, 2006

Asean keen on European-style single market

business-times.asia1.com.sg :

South-east Asian ministers hope to fast-track plans to create the Asean Economic Community (AEC), a European-style single market by 2015 in talks in Malaysia this week, as the region struggles to strengthen its economic muscle to counter competition from China and India. The AEC does not include a single currency system. Barriers in Asean to the flow of goods and services and restrictive business practices still hinder growth in the region, which has a market of over 530 million people, but accounts for only 6% of world exports.

Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshihiro Nikai will call for a massive 16-nation pan-Asian free trade area involving Asean, Australia, China, South Korea, India, Japan and New Zealand at the meeting this week. He is expected to offer a US$100 million fund to promote the proposed zone, which has a combined population of 3.1 billion people and a gross domestic product of almost US$10 trillion. The goal, however, is difficult to achieve due to the region's many rivalries.

(2006-08-22 12:58:58 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

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