Intra-ASEAN trade grows

Intra-ASEAN trade grows

MANILA (AFP): Trade among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is expected to grow further following Vietnam's entry, "pragmatic free market policies" and political stability, Philippine Trade Secretary Rizalino Navarro said yesterday.

Intra-ASEAN trade registered an average growth of 28 percent annually, Navarro said, adding that trade jumped 37.9 percent from US$85.3 billion in 1993 to $117.6 billion in 1994.

Navarro addressed delegates from chambers of commerce and industry of ASEAN members Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, which was admitted July 28.

The implementation of the common effective preferential tariff (CEPT) scheme, the main mechanism for implementing that ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) by 2003, would further encourage the growth of trade.

Navarro noted that the Vietnam's membership of ASEAN increased the consumer market in the Southeast Asian region from 340 million to 420 million people.