More economies keen to join TPP but that will take years: PM Lee

Manila

SOME of the world's largest economies including South Korea and Indonesia have openly expressed interest in joining the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade pact, but it will likely take years before any new invitations are sent out, says Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

He thinks it will be "several years down the road at the very earliest" before the TPP family welcomes a new member into the fold.