Asian growth spurred by regional cooperation

Asian growth spurred by regional cooperation

MANILA (AFP): Asia's powering growth will be spurred by the
increasing number of geographical areas of economic cooperation,
a conference was told here yesterday.

The Asian Institute of Management conference heard that the
establishment of areas of cooperation demonstrated the region's
economic interdependence rather than increasing competition.

Many countries had sought to duplicate the experience of the
first of these growth areas -- the South China growth triangle
linking southern China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the conference
heard.

Mitsuo Sato, president of the Asian Development Bank, said
such growth areas were fostered by increasing Asian economic
interdependence, direct investment flows within the region,
greater economic liberalization and more outward-looking national
economies.

But Sato added that "the benefits of cooperation may not be
similar for all the participating economies. Considerable efforts
must be made to design and implement cooperative arrangements in
terms of cost-sharing and benefit distribution."

Ajit Singh, secretary-general of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), said many growth areas benefited from
successful cooperation within ASEAN, which groups Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.

"It would be wrong to assume the subregional growth areas are
competing with one another," he said, adding that each area had
its own unique strengths.

In many cases, one developed trading center within a growth
area attracted investment and arranged for the building of
infrastructure in less-developed areas that were richer in
manpower or raw materials.

Among other growth areas is the Southern Growth Triangle,
comprising Singapore, the Johor state of Malaysia and Riau
province of Indonesia.

The Southern Growth Triangle had resulted in about US$10
billion worth of investment in Johor and Riau since 1989, Ajit
Singh said.

In the Northern Growth Triangle -- comprising the North
Sumatra and Aceh provinces of Indonesia, the northern states of
Malaysia and the five southern provinces of Thailand -- about
$3.25 billion in investment agreements had been signed since
1993, he added.

The East ASEAN Growth Area (EAGA), linking the southern
Philippines with Brunei, West and East Kalimantan and North
Sulawesi in Indonesia and Labuan, Sarawak and Sabah states in
Malaysia, was still forging links between its business sectors
following its creation in 1994.

Narongchai Akrasanee, head of the Thai investment firm General
Finance and Securities Public Co. Ltd., said the development of
another growth area -- the Greater Mekong Subregion, linking
parts of Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand -- was crucial to his
country.

"Thailand definitely needs the help of these countries. We are
desperate," he said noting that Thailand's demand for raw
materials and energy could not be met internally.

However, he conceded it could be difficult doing business with
other countries of Greater Mekong Subregion since many of them
were newcomers to market economies and had bureaucracies that
still did not trust capitalists.