© Commonwealth of Australia 2002

ISBN 0642 74072 0

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth available from Info Products. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Manager, Legislative Services, Info Products, Finance, GPO Box 1920, Canberra ACT 2601.

The views expressed in the Economic Roundup are commentary only, and should not be considered as advice. You should not act in reliance upon the views expressed in the publication, but should seek independent professional advice in relation to these issues and any proposed actions.

The Commonwealth and the authors disclaim responsibility for loss or damage suffered by any person relying, directly or indirectly, on this publication, including in relation to negligence or any other default.

Copies of this publication may be purchased either on an annual subscription or single issue basis. Subscription details are:

Annual Subscriptions (including postage and GST) $47.00
Single Issue $11.75

Annual subscriptions are payable in advance and should be sent to:

NMM - The Treasury
National Mailing and Marketing Pty. Ltd.
PO Box 7077
Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610

For further information regarding subscriptions, contact Roundup Publications Officer, National Mailing and Marketing Pty. Ltd., on 02 6299 6044.

Rates shown include postage within Australia and surface postage overseas. Single issue copies are available for purchase, usually the day following issue, from Government Infoshops which are located in all Australian capital cities - phone toll free on 132 447.

A copy of this document appears on the Treasury Website:
http://www.treasury.gov.au

The Treasury Website also contains data relating to Commonwealth Debt Management, including quarterly data on total gross outstanding debt of the Commonwealth (central) government, that meet the coverage and timeliness requirements of the IMF Special Data Dissemination Standards. In accordance with the IMF's Special Data Dissmination Standards, quarter-ahead notice of the approximate date of release of the data on total gross outstanding debt of the Commonwealth (central) government, is given on the IMF's Data Dissemination Bulletin Board (http://dsbb.imf.org).

Printed by CanPrint Communications Pty Limited

Contents

Articles

Restoring growth to the East Asian Region:
The role of APEC Finance Ministers 1

Australian net private wealth 19

Statistical appendix

List of charts and tables 35

Articles in the Economic Roundup 51

This issue includes data up to 18 March 2002