Asean economies shine as Covid-19 forces China to step back

A worker at a garment factory in Mae Sot, Thailand. The country's exports soared to a record US$28.7 billion thanks to shipments of electronics and textiles. PHOTO: REUTERS
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BALI - Early last year, having stomached delays of at least two weeks for the bolts of speciality fabric he needed from China to stitch into blouses and skirts at his factory, Mr Benny Soestrino started flying cargo to US consumers to make up for lost time.

The freight cost of that first shipment for US$1 million (S$1.4 million) of ready-to-wear garments was evenly split between Mr Soestrino's company, Inti Sukses Garmindo, in Semarang, and high-end clients representing labels such as Karl Lagerfeld and Donna Karan.

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