Japan offers $18b to ASEAN

Japan offers $18b to ASEAN

TOKYO (AFP): Japan plans to offer trade insurance worth a total of US$18 billion to help private-sector projects improve infrastructure in ASEAN nations over the next five to six years, a report said yesterday.

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto will announce the plan at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Kuala Lumpur next week, Jiji Press said.

The insurance will cover Japanese companies' joint projects with local firms to lay roads, improve public transportation such as subways, and build power stations, the news agency said.

Japan hopes to erase concern over the future of ASEAN economies, currently hit by a crisis, by clarifying its support and helping private-sector companies to expand investment in the region, it said.

Leaders from the nine ASEAN countries will hold talks with Hashimoto, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and South Korean Prime Minister Koh Kun at the three-day summit starting Sunday.