RI to be U.S. center for Asian markets

RI to be U.S. center for Asian markets

WASHINGTON (AFP): Indonesia will be the first stop for many American businessmen looking to do business in Asia under U.S. plans to challenge Japan's economic dominance of the region, the government said yesterday.

The United States will establish in Jakarta the U.S. Commercial Center in Asia that will assist U.S. companies looking to do business in Asia, the Commerce Department said.

Indonesia is a logical first stop because it is a "big emerging market" and plans to spend US$113 billion to expand its aviation, telecommunications and energy sectors -- which are of interest to U.S. companies, officials said.

The center is part of a major U.S. effort called "Destination ASEAN" to make it easier for American business to get the financing and assistance to penetrate markets in Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

"The competition there is quite fierce," said Jeffrey Garten, undersecretary of commerce for international trade. "This allows American companies to compete on a level playing field."

Garten said U.S. companies are particularly interested in getting contracts on a portion of the estimated one trillion dollars that the ASEAN countries will spend on building roads, railroads, power plants and water systems.

U.S companies have about 17 percent, and that figure is slipping, of the market share of infrastructure projects, compared to 24 percent held by the Japanese, Garten said.

As part of that effort, the Export-Import Bank will streamline its loan process and U.S. technical training will be provided to companies in the region that may in turn select U.S. companies for projects.

Export-Import Bank Chairman Kenneth Brody said a newly formed bank division will start accepting deals by June 27 and shorten the period for approving loans from the current six months to between 30 and 45 days.

The Commerce Department laid out its plans for ASEAN after U.S ambassadors to those countries met businessmen in five major U.S cities to encourage them to tap into the booming markets of Southeast Asia.

Overseas Private Investment Corporation, which offers risk insurance to protect U.S. investments against political violence, said it has $1.5 billion of ASEAN projects in the pipeline.