Australian exports to ASEAN up

Australian exports to ASEAN up

SYDNEY (AFP): Australian exports to Southeast Asia jumped by 34 percent to a record A$15.1 billion (US$7.92 billion) last year despite political uncertainty in some countries, officials said Monday.

The government's export agency Austrade said record export levels and forecast economic growth next year meant that Australian businesses were well placed to capture new opportunities in the region.

The Economist Intelligence Unit has forecast Southeast Asia's economy would grow at 4.7 percent in 2002 -- ahead of the global economy which expects just 2.9 percent growth.

Austrade's Singapore-based executive general manager for Southeast Asia, Mike Moignard, said that exports to Southeast Asia accounted for about 12 percent of Australia's total exports in any one year.