evolve into a single market with free flow of goods, services, investment and talent. an integrated asean is expected to boost the region ’ s gdp by 10 %. for businesses, an integrated asean means greater market access and more harmonized rules and standards. for investors, an integrated market of half a billion people will be an attractive investment destination. asean ’ s combined gdp of us $ 1 trillion is not insignificant. it is, in fact, bigger than india ’ s us $ 890 billion and more than a third of china ’ s us $ 2. 6 trillion. asean finance ministers have identified capital markets as a key area to fast - track integration. asean bond markets have tripled, from us $ 110 billion in 1997 to us $ 410 billion in 2007. from 2001 to 2006, asean market capitalization has grown by more than 120 %. asean has in place further initiatives to harmonise and integrate financial markets and boost liquidity. with further harmonisation of rules and regulations and increasing capital market linkages, we look forward to the deepening of asean market liquidity. as financial and capital markets in the region become more integrated, there will be seamless flows of investments and capital. asean has also made a strategic decision to strengthen its organisation politically. asean is finalising a charter that will lay out a bold and visionary future for asean. it will also provide an institutional framework for the grouping and transform it into a more effective and efficient rules - based organisation. the charter will be signed at the singapore summit in november. singapore – a global city as for developments in singapore, we have used the last 10 years to remake ourselves, strengthen our competitiveness and expand our economic space. we have also continued with efforts to enhance singapore ’ s position as a gateway to asia by transforming singapore into a global city. we have enlarged our economic space by aggressively pursuing ftas. we have concluded 11, including with the us, india, japan, south korea and australia. we are negotiating 11 more ftas, including one with china. we have progressively restructured and diversified our economy. manufacturing will continue to play a key role but we are also moving into more technology - and knowledge - intensive manufacturing. fostering world - class scientific research and strengthening singapore ’ s attractiveness as an r & d ( research and development ) hub is a key priority. more of singapore ’ s growth will come from innovation and knowledge. in the services sector, we have strengthened the key areas of tourism, healthcare,

goh chok tong : asean – the third growth engine in asia speech by mr goh chok tong, senior minister of the republic of singapore and chairman of the monetary authority of singapore, at the gala dinner of merrill lynch pan - asia rising stars conference, singapore, 9 may 2007. * * * a warm welcome to singapore. thank you for inviting me to your dinner and share my views on what is happening here. i will make a few observations about developments in the region and singapore, and hope that my remarks will help digestion, rather than cause indigestion. let me begin by thanking merrill lynch for organising this conference in singapore. such an impressive gathering helps our goal of making singapore an important financial and business centre. i hope the conference will serve as a forum not just for the exchange of business ideas but also the conception of new growth opportunities. this year will be the 10th anniversary of the asian financial crisis. despite the widespread devastation, asian economies have bounced back. according to a recent world bank report : “ a decade after the financial crisis that devastated east asia in 1997 - 98, the region is far wealthier, has fewer poor people and a larger global role than ever before. led by continued strong growth in china, emerging east asia now has an aggregate output of over us $ 5 trillion, double the dollar value just before the crisis. real per capita incomes in the previously crisis affected economies ( indonesia, korea, malaysia, philippines and thailand ) have significantly exceeded pre - crisis levels. ” – world bank ’ s “ east asia & pacific update – ten years after the crisis ” ( april 2007 ) asia is resilient. i am confident about asia ’ s future. i do not expect military conflicts as all countries are concentrating on economic growth and building cross - national and cross - regional ties. tensions may arise in cross - strait relations due to forthcoming elections in taiwan but so long as the us administration maintains its clear stand that it will not support taiwanese independence, the situation can be managed. terrorism remains a long - term threat but will not topple governments or drag economies down. but an avian flu pandemic will be a different threat altogether. it will tank many economies. barring this unpredictable risk, asia will continue to surge over the next 20 years, powered by the twin engines of china and india. the story of china is well - known and that of india becoming increasingly so. so i shall not elaborate on them. instead, i want