U.S. to help woo capital back to Asia

U.S. to help woo capital back to Asia

SINGAPORE (AP): U.S. ambassador to Singapore Steven Green said the recent flight of capital from the Asian region was a key concern at a gathering of American officials in Singapore, a local newspaper reported Saturday.

"It is obvious that in order to see the region prosper, we will have to find ways to attract private capital back to the region," Green was quoted as saying by The Straits Times.

Green was among several senior U.S. officials who met this week to review the rapid changes sweeping through the Pacific rim. Those attending included Stanley Roth, the State Department's highest official for East Asian affairs, and Admiral Joseph Prueher, Commander in Chief of U.S. forces in the Pacific.

The officials met Thursday and Friday "to exchange views on economic, political and security developments in the region," according to a U.S. Embassy statement.

Green said the desire of U.S. businesses and investors to put money back into Southeast Asia was "tremendous," but that they would remain cautious until the region's financial systems were properly reformed.

These countries' "many blemishes, previously hidden by double- digit growth, are now exposed," he was quoted as saying. "Only if governments corrected these blemishes would we see capital flowing back."

He added that it was likely "that the region will have to go through a period of political discomfort as well. For example, it is difficult to bring back capital to Indonesia until there is stability."

Green also noted that the region has been looking increasingly to the United States to help it out of the crisis, and that the U.S. is "committed to providing this leadership."