Ford undeterred by Asia's woes

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