TUBE SOUTHEAST ASIA EXPO SHEDS LIGHT ON THAILAND, REGION

摘要

ITS a vacationer's paradise-beaches in the south, mountains in the north, nightlife in the capital city, and low prices on nearly every consumer good under the sun. Like all emerging economies, it has a vibrant and growing manufacturing sector. It also happens to be centrally located in Southeast Asia, and draws people from all over: Malaysia, India, China, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. These three factors came together when Bangkok hosted Tube Southeast Asia Oct. 16-18. While many of the countries in the region have a few things in common-many are export-driven and peg their currencies to the U.S. dollar-in more ways they are different from each other. The population differences are extreme, from tiny Singapore (population 4.3 million) to colossal China (1.3 billion). Output per person, measured as gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, ranges from a low of 3 dollars in India to 31,000 dollars in Japan. The trade-to-GDP ratio, which is a measure of international trade compared with a nation's internal trade, is low in Japan (25.6) and a hard-to-believe 431.8 in Singapore.