ASEAN warns of mega Mamp;A backlash

The meeting was held on the sidelines of a four-yearly summit of the UN8217;s trade and development agency UNCTAD which began on Saturday. ASEAN groups Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said at the meeting that quot;these mergers could result in a domestic backlash against globalisation,quot; the spokesman, Kobsak Chutikul of Thailand, said.

Mahathir was concerned that such mergers and acquisitions could create giant multinationals that could gain superior advantages over smaller domestic companies in various fields.

Singapore8217;s Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong told Annan that big mergers could provide a backlash by taking multinationals8217; focus away from social safety nets. Since the beginning of 2000, there have been two notable world mega mergers 8211; the 151.80 billion AOL and Time Warner deal in the United States and the German company Mannesmann8217;s 176.50 billion merger with Vodafone Airtouch of Britain.

At the meeting, Foreign Minister Win Aung of military-ruled Myanmar asked for help from the UN and other international organisations in creating conditions for greater democratisation in the country, according to the spokesman.

Thailand8217;s premier Chuan Leekpai suggested to Annan that ASEAN be given observer status at the United Nations, the spokesman added. Annan told the 10-member grouping8217;s leaders that there needed to be a structured way for ASEAN and the United Nations to collaborate in the future. He later invited ASEAN to attend the next UN meeting in June as an observer.

Mahathir questions globalisation
BANGKOK: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad urged world leaders on Saturday to stop and think before pressing for globalisation, according to a Japanese official. quot;Globalisation is meaningful. But the problem is that all people of the world do not equally benefit from it,quot; a Japanese official quoted Mahathir as telling a luncheon meeting hosted by Thai Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi.

He said the concept of globalisation must be discussed before fully implementing it. quot;People of the world must stop and discuss globalisation,quot; Mahathir was quoted as saying.

Mahathir made the remarks shortly before the opening of the UN Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD summit on Saturday. The Bangkok meeting is the first gathering of a global,inter-governmental group dealing with trade and economic affairs since a WTO ministerial meeting in Seattle failed to agree on starting a new round of global trade talks late last year.

How to narrow the widening economic gaps between rich and poor will be high on the agenda at the UNCTAD meeting. The Japanese official said WTO Director-General Mike Moore told the luncheon meeting that globalisation had already moved forward and each country should think of ways to take advantage of it. quot;Globalisation is not an ideology,quot; he was quoted as saying. He also said the United States wanted to launch a new round of global trade talks but its position remained unclear. quot;The US position is not clear as to how much sacrifice itshould make,quot; Moore was quoted as saying.