US reaching out to Asean investors

US businesses, meanwhile, are calling on their government to negotiate bilateral trade deals with Asean members to ensure they can continue to compete with their trade rivals.

To this end, the US-Asean Business Council scheduled dialogue sessions last week for US and Asean business operators to coincide with the Asia-Pacific Economic Partnership (Apec) Summit in Singapore.

The US Commercial Service Department in Bangkok last Monday organised a seminar, "Investing in the USA", to provide up-to-date information on the economic and trade environment in the US and to encourage investment in the country.

Operators of about 175 businesses from various industries in Thailand - including finance, insurance, industrial estates and manufacturing - participated in the event.

Sumeth Laomoraphorn, president of CP Intertrade, said the US wanted to show that it is ready to help investors explore business opportunities in various industries now that the economy is starting to recover.

"Many businesses were highlighted … in particular in the financial sector. The US government is trying to communicate that its financial markets are recovering, and big opportunities await Thai investors to realise maximum returns," he said.

US Embassy spokesman Michael Turner said his government wanted to encourage businesspeople to invest more in the US, and to send a signal that it is "open for business" once again in various sectors.

"Since there are differences in climate, regulations, tax laws and incentives in each part of our country, we wanted to increase understanding among foreign investors [about how] to penetrate the market, and help facilitate them to invest in interesting businesses," said Turner.

He said that as the world economy recovers, the challenge for the US was to boost foreign investors' confidence. "Whenever there is a crisis, there are opportunities for businesses to explore. The US wants to maintain its reputation as providing the most open investment climate in the world."

So far, the US's return to economic growth has been gradual. Many workers are still unemployed, and are therefore available for investors looking to open businesses, he added.

Anthony Nelson, manager for communications, marketing and press at the US-Asean Business Council, said Asean is important to many US companies' bottom lines. Asean purchased US$68.4 billion (Bt2.3 trillion) worth of US exports in 2008. The average Asean consumer spent twice as much on US goods last year as the average Chinese consumer, and nearly eight-and-a-half times as much as the average Indian consumer, he said.

The US has had a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Singapore since 2003. In that time US exports to Singapore have increased by 68 per cent. Increased exports mean more US jobs, Nelson said.

Nelson said US businesspeople strongly support Senator Richard Lugar's recent introduction of a resolution calling for the US to begin establishing a framework for an FTA with Asean. They recognise, Nelson said, that a complete Asean FTA may be a long way off, but there are a number of steps that can be taken now, including the US signing on to the Trans-Pacific Economic Partnership.

South Korea, India, Australia, the European Union, Japan and China already have FTAs with Asean. The US needs to begin engagement in this sphere or risk being left behind, Nelson said.

He added that US businesses also foresee more opportunities after the Asean economic integration envisioned by 2015 is realised. For Asean's part, the more its 10 member nations move toward economic integration, the more their companies will be able to invest, Nelson said.

Asean is a huge market, and companies want to be able to approach it as one, rather than having to change how they do business every time they cross a border, he said.