I don't fully agree with some posts here (I am actually the one who provided the info on the recent auction prices for Buy.ASIA and Gold.ASIA in a different forum).
Please keep in mind that these were closed auctions at Pool.com (i.e. if you did not apply for the domain before the Landrush in February '08, you can not participate). So the number of bidders is extremely limited, and these values do not reflect open market values.
It is true that there is very little liquidity in .ASIA domains at this time, and many .ASIA domains can be bought for little cost.
Remember the old saying: "Buy low, sell high"? Prices are low right now (the .ASIA TDL is very young, many sites are only in the early stages of development). I would actually consider this to be a good time to buy quality .ASIA domain names, because demand will increase once the current economic downturn comes to an end.
Let's face it: all the good .com domains are taken and often quite pricey.
.ASIA domains have a good intrinsic value due to the world markets they are representing, and due to great SEO capability.
Let me give you an example: Webdesign.ASIA is currently a simple landing page without real content, yet it is already on page ONE of Google search results for Webdesign Asia or Asia Webdesign. Just imagine where this domain will rank once somebody actually puts content on this site...?
Why are many major corporations developing .ASIA sites? Because they understand this intrinsic value of .ASIA domains. As more sites go up, they will register higher in the search engines, more people will see the domains, and demand will increase. At this time most people I talk to still have no idea the .ASIA TDL even exists.
So please think a little more carefully before concluding that .ASIA domains are not worth it...