500,000 new jobs in ASEAN zone

500,000 new jobs in ASEAN zone

KUALA LUMPUR (DPA): A joint development zone involving areas in northern Malaysia, southern Thailand and Sumatra will create half a million jobs and help reduce poverty in the region, a report said yesterday.

The New Straits Times, citing a study commissioned by the three countries, said 1.5 million people are also expected to settle in special economic zones to be built within the so-called "growth triangle."

The main beneficiaries of the vast development project will be Malaysian-based manufacturers and traders, and Indonesian and Thai workers.

The Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand growth triangle was formed in 1993, with the aim of mainly drawing Malaysian investment and labor-intensive industries to parts of Indonesia and Thailand where land and labor costs are cheaper.

The study recommends that two special economic zones be created within the triangle - one linking the Malaysia-Thai border area and the other, northern Sumatra and Malaysia's northern states.