The Hindu : Business : ASEAN FTA by mid-2006

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 19, 2006

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ASEAN FTA by mid-2006

Special Correspondent

Existing pacts with Thailand, Singapore to be supplemented

KOLKATA: India will conclude the ASEAN free trade agreement by the middle of 2006, Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Kamal Nath, announced here on Wednesday, while addressing a plenary session at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) partnership summit.

He said the trade issues were being resolved through meetings. Answering a question from a former Philippines minister, who has come here along with a 20-member delegation, he said the ASEAN pact would be supplemented by existing trade pacts with Thailand and Singapore. "Engagements with other countries are also possible," he said.

SEZ Act to be notified

Mr. Kamal Nath announced at a press briefing later that the government was likely to notify the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act within the next ten days, saying that this was likely to provide a major impetus to investments. He said it took some time to frame the rules, as the government was keen to have rules that were enabling in nature rather than being restrictive.

The units in the existing 25 SEZs would also come under the Act now, he said, adding that there were proposals for setting up 70 SEZs entailing a Rs. 10,000 crore investment.

He indicated that the rules would be sector-specific with a special formulation for the IT sector.

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