SINGAPORE, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Singapore government announced on Thursday that it has met a new regional electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) standard aimed at boosting intra-region trade.

    The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) EEE Agreement, signed by the ASEAN economic ministers in December 2005 in Malaysia, aims to establish one common standard governing each category of regulated EEE so as to overcome the need to re-test and certify to different regulatory frameworks.

    Singapore was the first country in ASEAN to conform to the standard, almost four years ahead of the deadline set by all 10 ASEAN members to comply with the agreement by the end of 2010, according to a statement by Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING Singapore).

    With the introduction of the EEE standards across ASEAN countries, Singapore's electrical and electronic companies can look forward to greater market access and lower business costs, the statement said.

    In the past, companies exporting regulated EEE had to re-certify products to meet the different regulatory standards of ASEAN member countries.

    In 2005, Singapore exported 45.3 billion Singapore dollars (about 29.4 billion U.S. dollars ) of EEE to ASEAN countries. Companies usually have to fork out 2 percent to 5 percent of their production cost to retest and re-certify products before they can be sold in other countries.