Recovery forecast for 2016

Trade among Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation member economies is expected to recover slowly next year, according to APEC Secretariat officials.

The recovery would be due to external demand and imports, particularly from developing countries among the 21 APEC members, said Denis Hew, the APEC Secretariat's director of policy support.

Alan Bollard, APEC Secretariat executive director, said Pacific Rim economies are also concerned about integration between manufacturing and services.

He said that this year APEC is focused on making the economies more inclusive to include small business, the service sector, and environmental and disaster recovery issues.