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.