Foreign investment key for APEC's developing nations<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (AFP): APEC government officials and business leaders
\nmet here yesterday to grapple with the issue of foreign
\ninvestment and its role in fueling the developing economies of
\nthe region.<\/p>\n
In his opening remarks to the APEC Investment Symposium, co-
\nchairman Susumu Yamagake, a political science professor from
\nTokyo University, said investment had overtaken trade in
\nimportance for economic relations between countries.<\/p>\n
\"Nowadays foreign investment is the source of interdependence
\nbetween countries,\" he told more than 100 government officials
\nand business leaders from member countries of the Asia Pacific
\nEconomic Cooperation forum.<\/p>\n
This interdependence, however, required a \"consistent and
\nstable\" environment for foreign investors, leading Hong Kong
\nbusinessman Richard Li told the conference in a closed-door
\nsession.<\/p>\n
Many governments restricted foreign investment in high-profile
\nsectors such as power and telecommunications, although countries
\nsuch as Indonesia were beginning to liberalize, Li was quoted as
\nsaying by a participant.<\/p>\n
Foreigners were only acceptable if the \"benefits
\noverwhelmingly outweigh the political and economic costs,\" said
\nLi, who heads the Pacific Century Group and founded the Hong
\nKong-based Star TV satellite television network in 1990.<\/p>\n
Advocates for the liberalization of such laws argue that
\nattracting and keeping foreign investors is imperative for
\ndeveloping economies, not only for financial reasons, but also
\nfor bringing in much needed technology and skills.<\/p>\n
\"Foreign direct investment is very important for economic
\ngrowth,\" Baang Young-Min, director of South Korea's foreign
\ninvestment division, told AFP.<\/p>\n
\"Koreans realize that we have to dismantle economic
\nfrontiers,\" he said. \"As far as the economy is concerned, we are
\nin the process of moving towards one single, unified market.\"<\/p>\n
Free access<\/p>\n
But while both the private sector and governments can agree,
\nin principle, on the virtues of free access for foreign
\ninvestment, in practice both sides are worlds apart.<\/p>\n
\"There are still many countries with many restrictions,\"
\nHiroshi Kadota, director of the Asian Affairs department of the
\nJapan Federation of Economic Organizations, or Keidanren, told
\nAFP.<\/p>\n
Kadota said restrictions in Japan's closest markets, China and
\nSouth Korea, were keeping Japanese companies at bay. He added
\nthat the situation could get worse if China decided to reduce
\nincentives for foreign firms.<\/p>\n
Participants at the two-day symposium pointed out that the 18
\nAPEC member economies would do well to bring about a general
\nliberalization of foreign investment laws, as many were now
\nbecoming outward investors.<\/p>\n
APEC does not have a formal investment code for its members,
\nbut adopted a set of non-binding investment principles --
\nconsidered \"aspirational and voluntary\" -- at a ministerial
\nmeeting in Jakarta in 1994.<\/p>\n
APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Chile, Hong
\nKong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New
\nGuinea, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand
\nand the United States.<\/p>\n
The symposium, also attended by officials from unaffiliated
\ninternational organizations, was aimed at bringing together
\ngovernment and business, but some from the private sector
\nsuggested that their voices would not be heard.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the delegates here are government officials,\" one
\nbusiness representative said. \"Investment issues are very
\ndivisive, it will be very difficult to make clear our opinion on
\nthese matters.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/foreign-investment-key-for-apecs-developing-nations-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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