Asian leaders look to euro as alternative to dollar in int'l trade

Asian leaders look to euro as alternative to dollar in int'l trade

Agence France-Presse, Elsinore, Denmark

Asian leaders gathered here for the ASEM meeting with EU
members have shown a keen interest in the euro as a possible
alternative to the dollar in international trade, Danish prime
minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if in the future Asian countries were
to use the euro as a means of payment in international
transactions," Rasmussen told reporters Sunday after a dinner in
Elsinore, marking the start of the two-day Asia-Europe meeting
held in Copenhagen.

"Asian leaders were asking about the role of the single
currency as a reserve currency internationally," he said, adding
that exchange rate developments between the euro and the dollar
were given particular attention.

According to diplomatic sources, Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad took the lead in the discussions, focusing on
the euro's role as rival to the dollar in international trade.

Others highlighted the possibility of Asian countries
themselves moving towards the adoption of a single currency.

Thailand's prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, raised the
possibility of "Asia bonds" issued in a joint currency, according
to the sources. Before the advent of the euro, a basket of
national EU currencies, the ECU, was regularly used by
governments and corporate borrowers to issue debt.

The summit participants are expected to return to the euro in
the wider context of economic cooperation between the two
continents in a working session on Monday.