"Helping companies survive the economic crisis and making sure member countries resist the temptations of protectionism will be the top 2009 aims of the APEC grouping of 21 Asia-Pacific economies, its Director said.

It will be a return to the fundamental aims of promoting economic growth and free trade for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, APEC's new Executive Director Michael Tay told Reuters on Thursday. ...

'What is important now is how you prevent your companies from falling all over the place (and) not surviving this crisis.' Pragmatic measures on that score will include getting trade and finance officials together to work on making credit flow to facilitate trade, easing transportation and logistical barriers, and expediting the process of setting up new businesses. ..." [Reuters/Factiva]