[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

AP-S.E. Asia Said Committed to Refo



Reply-To: "TIN KYI" <tinkyi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: AP-S.E. Asia Said Committed to Reforms

Friday October 22, 10:22 am Eastern Time
S.E. Asia Said Committed to Reforms
By OLIVER TEVES
Associated Press Writer
MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Southeast Asian countries remain committed to
economic reform despite their unexpectedly fast recovery from financial
crisis, an official of a regional association of governments said Friday.

Rodolfo Severino, secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, said there was some concern that the rapid recovery in the region
would diminish efforts for reform.

But he said there is ``no sign that there is such a slackening.''

``ASEAN is trying to ensure that these reforms continue and that no
development that could affect everybody would surprise us again,'' he said.

Meanwhile, an executive of the U.S. investment banking firm Goldman Sachs,
speaking in Singapore, urged Asian companies to reform how they operate and
focus on core businesses to sustain the economic recovery.

Asia's economic crisis, which began in July 1997, has been blamed on
government favoritism toward certain companies, inadequate financial
regulation, and massive flows of foreign investment.

ASEAN leaders will hold their annual summit next month in Manila.

An ASEAN Free Trade Area will be ``substantially completed'' early next
year, with 85 percent of goods traded within the region subjected to no more
than a 5 percent tariff, he said. Most ASEAN goods will be tariff-free a few
years after that, Severino said.

ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Richard Gnodde of Goldman Sachs said Friday that the improving
economic performance in the region should give governments support to
continue making reforms rather than creating a sense of complacency.

Governments already have made progress in strengthening market oversight,
bankruptcy laws and other regulations, said Gnodde, who heads the merchant
bank's operations in Asia outside of Japan.

The region's economies and markets have rebounded far faster than expected
from the Asian financial crisis.

Stock market capitalization in the Asian region outside of Japan has
returned to the pre-crisis level of $2 trillion, after plunging 60 percent,
Gnodde said.

He said mergers and acquisitions are also picking up. The value of announced
or completed mergers and acquisitions so far this year has come to $100
billion, surpassing the $70 billion recorded in the nine months of 1997
before the crisis broke out, he said.

In the equities markets, he said new share issues have hit a record $18.3
billion this year, reflecting increased investor confidence.

``Economic prosperity will help governments continue down the path of
Peform,'' Gnodde said.