SYDNEY, March 5 — Australia said on Tuesday it would set up an A$2 billion (RM6.1 billion) finance facility to boost trade and investment in Southeast Asia as it looks to expand ties with the Asean bloc, the country’s second-largest two-way trading partner.
“Our future lies in our region … Asean is where the action is, we want to get a bigger slice of that action for the Australian people,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers told ABC television.
Chalmers said the federal government would ensure the fund would suit investors but also Australia‘s national interests.
“What this new investment facility is all about is making sure that we can turbocharge that two‑way investment which is so important to the region, but also to our country,” he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to formally unveil details of the fund in a speech later on Tuesday to business leaders on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Countries (Asean) summit in Melbourne, according to reports in several Australian media.
Albanese’s office did not immediately respond to a request seeking comments.
Australia is hosting the three-day summit from Monday to mark 50 years since it became Asean’s first external partner, and bolster ties with the fast-growing region as China looks to increase its diplomatic and military reach.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Monday unveiled A$286.5 million (RM881.9 million) in funding for Asean projects in areas including maritime security, amid tensions over China’s growing assertiveness and its disputed claims to the South China Sea.
— Reuters
