South-east Asian nations are discussing funnelling some of their $475bn in foreign reserves into a fund to develop regional infrastructure.

Thailand, which holds the rotating presidency of the Association of South East Asian Nations, has taken the lead on the proposal, which Korn Chatikavanij, finance minister, said could be published “in a month or two”. Mr Korn said members would benefit by funding much-needed infrastructure projects rather than “routing [their reserves] around other capital markets”, most typically the US bond market.