Ford undeterred by Asia's woes

FORD MOTOR Co believes Asia will overcome its economic troubles to become the world's biggest vehicle market, and hopes to announce soon the opening of a new plant in the Philippines, a senior executive said last week.

Vice Chairman Wayne Booker told Reuters that Ford was "undeterred" by the economic downturn in Asia and would stick with its more than US$1 billion in investments in the region, including $500 million in Thailand.

Last month, Ford showed its commitment to remain a player in the local Indonesian market with the launch of the new Laser, the Lynx.

However, any further investments here, at least in the short term, have been put on hold until the national car issue has been resolved.

"I think you have to look beyond what we are seeing at the present time. We still have a strong belief that 10 or 15 years from now this will be the biggest market," said Booker, who was attending a business and security conference in Kuala Lumpur.

Ford expects the Asian vehicle market will eventually at least equal that of the United States, where 15 million cars are sold every year, Booker said.

"It's very important that Ford be a major player in this region of the world," he said.

"This situation here that we're going through varies by country. We view it as a short-term situation. Short-term may vary by country. It may be two years in one and five years in another, but it will be short-term."

Booker, who is responsible for Ford's worldwide joint ventures as well as the development of new business in the Asia-Pacific region, said the carmaker was working on setting up a manufacturing operation in the Philippines.

"Hopefully we can announce something very soon," he said. "I'd hoped to have made it already."

Booker, who met Philippines President Fidel Ramos last November, said the manufacturing operation was linked to the Philippines elections and reforms.

"We're sort of hung up in all that process," he said without elaborating. "We haven't quite solved the problems yet."

Booker said Ford was making major investments in Thailand worth some $500 million.

"We are not stopping those," he said.

Ford has just launched a plant in Vietnam and has announced its plans soon to increase its stake in China's light truck maker Jiangling Motors Corp Ltd to 30 percent from 20 percent, he said.

Booker said Ford's association with India's Mahindra was very positive but the market there was difficult.

"They have the rule of law and all of that, but we also have a huge amount of bureaucracy, and reforms are moving slower now because of the political uncertainties that have occurred over the last couple of years," he said of India.

Ford plans to upgrade its small manufacturing facilities as well as its distribution system in Malaysia, where the U.S. company controls about seven percent of the "non-national" car market, Booker said.

Malaysia's national producers control about 80 percent of the local market, while Ford, Toyota, Honda and Nissan are the main competitors for the remaining 20 percent, he said.

"We don't envision being a major player here as long as the national car program exists. I don't see that changing in the near future," he said. "Eventually, it will change."

Asked whether he felt the U.S. government had done enough to help Asia combat its economic troubles, Booker said: "I think it's too early to tell. I don't believe it's all played out yet."

-- Reuters