Call For Legal Framework On Public-Private Partnership In ASEAN

KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 (Bernama) -- A well-structured legal framework on a Public-Private Partnership must be established in all ASEAN countries before the initiative could be introduced on a regional basis. Thai representative to the ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee Pradap Pibulsonggram said Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam were among ASEAN member states that had already instituted the legal framework. However, some countries do not have it, he said. Such framework is crucial to convince the private sector to invest as they need such assurance, he told reporters on the sidelines of the 12th ASEAN Leadership Forum, held in conjunction with the 26th ASEAN Summit, here Monday. Pibulsonggram said ASEAN member states acknowledged the importance of PPP in mobilising private sector resources and they were trying their level best to come out with a comprehensive PPP law. According to ASEAN secretary-general Le Luong Minh, the region needs US$100 billion a year from 2010 to 2020 for infrastructure development while investments from the public sector and dialogue partners were expected to accommodate only between US$47 billion and US$50 billion a year. ASEAN was established in 1967 by Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia, and later joined by Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. -- BERNAMA