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ADB to assess

Asian cooperation

at annual meeting

HONG KONG: Delegates convening next week in Manila for the Asian Development Bank's annual meeting will assess how regional economic cooperation would help Asia grow faster and more efficiently, economists said on Thursday.

"People will be asking what are the incentives for countries to cooperate with each other and what are the impediments on a local, national and global scale said. economist and coordinator of the bank's planned seminar on globalisation and regional integration, told Reuters.

Asian countries have lowered tariffs and relaxed investment rules over the years, often unilaterally and generally outside of formal trade agreements.

Andrew Freris, chief regional economist at Salomon Brothers in Hong Kong, said that is the way it should stay.

The newly industrialising Asian economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea are fast eclipsing traditional investors, such as the United States and Japan, as the most important sources of investment for their Asian neighbours.

"On a yearly basis, investment from Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and China now massively exceeds investment from the States and Japan," Freris said.

Stephen Taran, head of credit research at Lehman Brothers in Hong Kong, said free trade regimes do have a role to play.

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members have agreed to achieve free trade by 2010 for industrial country members and 2020 for developing country members.

ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) members have set a timetable for eliminating tariffs within the group by 2003 and for establishing a common preferential tariff.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprises the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia.-Reuter