Singapore

ASEAN'S mega free trade deal could soon see the light at the end of the tunnel, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong suggested, even as Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing decried "recent policy U-turns elsewhere".

Talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) "are at a critical stage", Mr Lee said on Wednesday at the opening of the four-day 50th Asean Economic Ministers' Meeting and Related Meetings at the Shangri-La Hotel.