ASEAN envoys in U.S. for investment drive

JAKARTA (JP): Ambassadors of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the United States will launch a campaign next month to woo American investment in the six member countries.

The ambassadors will target three states: Arkansas, Illinois and Arizona, the Washington-based U.S.-ASEAN Council for Business and Technology Inc., said in a statement made available yesterday.

The council, a private organization representing private sectors' interests in ASEAN with Ernest Z. Bower as director, is sponsoring the tour, the third of its kind. The highly successful first two campaigns, in 1992 and 1993, helped introduce the six ASEAN countries to the American business community.

The ambassadors will travel to Little Rock, Arkansas, on Oct. 24, Chicago, Illinois on Oct. 26 and Phoenix, Arizona on Oct. 31.

The ambassadors will speak at seminars in each city in an effort to tap the investment and trade potential of the ASEAN countries, council spokesman John Goyer said in the statement.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

These countries, with a combined gross domestic product of US$400 billion, form the United States' third largest market after Japan and the European Union.

The tour follows the highly successful campaign by U.S. ambassadors to ASEAN countries in June which stopped in Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, St. Louis, New York and Washington DC.

Goyer said the ASEAN ambassadors, along with their embassies' economic counselors, would share their knowledge and expertise on business opportunities for American firms in Southeast Asia.

"Federal, state and local assistance agencies will also provide information on international trade finance programs, investment strategies and market access and support networks," he said. (rms)