• Home
• /
• Business

SARS fears on minds at Asian business leaders' meeting

TOKYO - Growing fears about the threat of SARS to the regional economy are likely to top the agenda at a meeting of Asian business leaders that began yesterday in Tokyo.

The four-day meeting brought more than 120 representatives from the 21 economies that make up the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

APEC promotes trade and economic cooperation. Its Business Advisory Council is planning to issue a statement at the end of the meeting on the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome because of concern about the damage it may bring to the region's economy, officials said.

The disease is expected to crimp Asian economic growth, with less business trips, tourism and corporate events. The big danger is that SARS may hurt long-term investments in the region.

The group's report will be presented at a meeting of APEC trade ministers in Thailand in June, where SARS will be discussed.

The Tokyo gathering was also expected to tackle intellectual property rights, free-trade agreements, corporate governance and regional financial stability.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi kicked off the conference with a reception yesterday evening for 130 participants and officials, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Formal discussions were scheduled to begin today.

Japan's representative Tasuku Takagaki, former president of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, said damage from SARS will depend on how long the problem lasts. It was too early to give an "exact assessment."

With a combined population of more than 2.5 billion, APEC members generate a total gross domestic product of US$19 trillion and account for about 47 per cent of international commerce.

More than 580 people have died worldwide of SARS, with most of the casualties in China and Hong Kong. More than 7,400 probable cases have been reported worldwide. There have been no confirmed cases in Japan.

APEC, set up in 1989, consists of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. APEC leaders set up the business council in 1995.