APEC and the economy

APEC and the economy

From Merdeka

Knowing that industries and trade are marking good progress in
the Southeast Asian region, it seems to me that countries such as
Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand and Singapore are not particularly
enthusiastic about the results of the APEC summits. With or
without APEC summits, these countries' economies are fairly
stable. They have no financial problems like bad loans, price
fluctuations etc.

Indonesia, on the other hand, is currently experiencing
various problems in financial matters such as bad loans,
increased foreign loans, price increases in the wake of high
inflation, the government's plan to increase tax on fuel and
price increases of low-cost houses. The latter case will only
make it harder for developers to repay their debts. Therefore,
Indonesia has good reasons for hoping to benefit from APEC
summits. It can promote its non-oil exports, for example.

H.G. MALIKMASS

Jakarta