U.S. Companies Hold Dialogue with ASEAN Finance Ministers

U.S. Companies Hold Dialogue With ASEAN Finance Ministers
US-ASEAN Business Council to provide training

(Kuala Lumpur). The US-ASEAN Business Council held a dialogue with ASEAN Finance Ministers during the Annual ASEAN Finance Ministers Meeting (AFFM). The discussion focused on financial sector issues and explored areas of mutual cooperation to support economic growth and investment. During the session, the Council proposed a series of technical training programs with ASEAN financial regulators, including a study tour to the U.S. later this year.

"Clearly, financial systems have been strengthened and business practices improved. We are seeing debt levels addressed while industries are restructuring." noted Stephen Long, Executive Vice President of Citigroup. Mr. Long is the Chairman of the US-ASEAN Business Council's Financial Sector Working Group.

"Unfortunately, the region is coming under renewed stress, much of which is a result of external factors," he added, citing the slowing U.S. economy, weak recovery and slow growth in Japan and Europe, the global drop in equity markets, and the state of flux surrounding the global free trade agenda.

"In many ways, Asia is better positioned than in the past." Long continued. The risks are better understood, there is greater appreciation of portfolio management issues, and we, as managers, have all learned from the crisis. That said, we must continue applying the lessons learned, including better credit risk analysis, continued strengthening of the banking system, and improvement of data and information transparency, an area in which there is enormous opportunity to effectively use information technology."

Ernest Bower, President of the US-ASEAN Business Council, said, "It is a recognized fact that for the past several years, foreign investment flows to ASEAN have been down. The U.S. has remained committed, increasing its investment in ASEAN 30 percent since 1997, to a total value of US$52 billion. However, in net terms, ASEAN has been losing foreign investment to other regions. We believe in the fundamental value of ASEAN, and we believe this trend can and will be reversed. It is the continued strengthening of banking and financial systems, combined with the proper leveraging of ASEAN's inherent advantages - particularly AFTA and other regional economic cooperation initiatives -- that will pull capital back to Southeast Asia." Bower added.

The U.S. delegation proposed training and study tours to be developed in direct consultation with the ASEAN governments. This effort will be private sector led, with corporations teaming with U.S. institutions to provide financial support and technical expertise. US-ASEAN Business Council members, have also been engaged in a dialogue with the Southeast Asian Central Banks Research and Training Center (SEACEN), the Kuala Lumpur-based training center for region's central banks.

Corporate members of the Council participating in the Dialogue included Alltel, American Express, Bank of America, Citigroup, Federal Express, GE Capital, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, and Oracle Corporation.

ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It comprises ten countries, 500 million people, and has a gross domestic product of $750 billion. ASEAN member countries include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The US-ASEAN Business Council is a non-profit, national organization in the United States that works to promote increased trade and investment between the U.S. and the member countries of ASEAN. For information on the US-ASEAN Business Council or general information on the ASEAN region, please contact John Goyer at jgoyer@usasean.org or visit the Council's Web site at www.us-asean.org.

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