Investment officials meet in Manila<\/p>\n
MANILA (DPA): Investment officials and business leaders from
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries gathered
\nin the Philippines yesterday for a two-day meeting aimed at
\nsearching for ways to boost investment flows in the region.<\/p>\n
Cesar Bautista, the Philippines' trade and industry secretary,
\nsaid the ASEAN Head of Investment Agencies Meeting \"will be
\ninstrumental in identifying the many ways for enhancing intra-
\nand extra-ASEAN flows of foreign direct investments\".<\/p>\n
In a keynote address at the opening of the conference,
\nBautista also said the meeting would help encourage and promote
\ncooperative ventures and strategic alliances among companies in
\nASEAN, doubling or tripling investment flows by the turn of the
\ncentury.<\/p>\n
\"There are still so many avenues we have to explore towards
\nexpanding and upgrading intra-ASEAN relations in trade,
\ninvestments, industrial and technical cooperation, and human
\nresource training and manpower exchange that will mutually
\nbenefit our respective economies,\" Bautista said.<\/p>\n
Bautista urged the delegates to focus on attracting investment
\ninto specific industrial sectors in the region during their
\nclosed-door discussions, instead of the prevailing strategy of
\npromoting individual countries.<\/p>\n
\"This also will bring to the fore the still relatively
\nuntapped potential for ASEAN complementarity and various
\nopportunities for complementation among ASEAN industrial
\nsectors,\" he said.<\/p>\n
From the Philippines' experience, investment from ASEAN
\nneighbors has improved remarkably since the period of 1986-1990,
\nwhen foreign capital from Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and
\nIndonesia accounted for only 3.7 per cent of total Asian
\ninvestment in the country.<\/p>\n
In the period of 1991-1996, ASEAN's share in investment in the
\nPhilippines surged to 31 per cent or 22 billion pesos (US$833
\nmillion) of the total Asian investment of 71.2 billion pesos
\n($2.7 billion).<\/p>\n
ASEAN now includes Vietnam, while the group has decided to
\naccept as members Burma, Cambodia and Laos by July.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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