M'SIA WILL BENEFIT FROM NANNING-S'PORE ECONOMIC CORRIDOR, SAYS ASLI CEO

From Vincent Low Seng Guan

NANNING, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will benefit from higher trade volume
between China and Southeast Asia when all the missing links along the
Nanning-Singapore Economic Corridor are completed, says Dr Michael Yeoh,
CEO of the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI), Malaysia's leading
independent Think Tank

The corridor should be able to link Malaysian ports and make them more
efficient and competitive, he said.

"However, Malaysia may have to address efficiency of its container haulage
and trade forwarders. Unless they can make themselves very cost-effective and
very efficient, it will end up that Singapore's haulage companies bringing
their goods all the way up to Thailand and Thai companies using their haulage
to bring their goods all the way to singapore.

"This may end up they using Malaysian roads, but not the carrier," he told
Bernama when commenting on how Nanning-Singapore Economic Corridor would benefit
Malaysia when it was fully operational on the sidelines of the Fifth Pan-Beibu
Gulf Economic Cooperation Forum here Friday.

The forum is co-sponsored by China's Ministry of Transport, Ministry of
Commerce, General Administration of Customs, National Tourism Administration,
Development and Research Centre of the State Council, People's Daily, State
Development Bank, People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,
Guangdong and Hainan provincial governments and Thailad Ministry of Commerce.

Earlier, Yeoh shared his thought on the topic "Establishment of China-Asean
Free Trade Area and Nanning-Singapore Economic Corridor Development" with 400
delegates attending the forum's opening session here Wednesday.

Among attendees at the two-day forum are Chinese heads of state, ministers
and provincial governors, ministers and deputy ministers of Pan Beibu Gulf
countries.

Experts and think tanks from renowned local and foreign research
institutions and entrepreneurs from Fortune 500 companies are also invited to
the forum.

Delegates from Malaysia include Lee Hwa Beng, Chairman of the Klang Port
Authority.

Yeoh said Malaysian railways should be able to cope with the standard
required by the Nanning-Singapore Economic Corridor.

He said the corridor running through seven countries -- China, Vietnam,
Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore -- with US$5.3 trillion in
total GDP, will provide the momentum for the region's sustained growth
and development.

Yeoh said the corridor was a timely initiative to foster connectivity
between South East Asia and China and also complement the Asean Master Plan on
Connectivity.

"It connects 1.5 billion people in Asia and links some of the important
cities in the region," he said.

In his keynote address, Yeoh said being a government-appointed member in the
High Level Task Force on Asean Connectivity, he had given many feedback and
recommendations on the masterplan for Malaysia's interests.

"We are finalising the plans to be submitted to the Asean Heads of
Government for their endorsement at the coming Asean Leaders' Summit in Hanoi
in October," he said.

Yeoh said the high-level task force will hold its meeting in Singapore on
Saturday to identify priority projects and key financing mechanism for the
masterplan.

"China is in a very strong position to provide the expertise for developing
the Asean Master Plan on Connectivity and provide funding to implement the
masterplan to build some of the missing links in road and rail transportation,"
he added.
-- BERNAMA