Intra-reg'l trade, new markets boost exports

EAST Asian exporters can also consider tapping developing country markets outside the region aside from China which is expected to continue to be a driver of intra-regional trade.

"The share of manufacturing exports from China and the Asean-4 headed to markets beyond the major trading blocs is sizable and growing," said the World Bank in its latest East Asia and Pacific Economic Update.

It said markets that also offer considerable potential for East Asia's exporters include among others, newly-industrialized economies (NIEs), Japan, European Union-25 and United States.

The bank noted that the importance of the Chinese economy for intra-regional trade is likely to grow further, although the composition of this trade may change with the rebalancing of demand in China.

"This process could yield sizable export gains to countries which are able to tap into this new source of final goods demand in China. However, for countries which remain reliant on commodity exports, the impact may be less benign as China's rates of fixed investment and construction decline," it said.

Intra-regional exports within Asean-4 comprising Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, and with China have risen.