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U.S. AMBASSADORS TO LEAD BUSINESS SEMINAR
ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Companies from all over Indiana will have the chance to learn about business and commercial opportunities in the markets of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in a half-day meeting with U.S. ambassadors to the region on June 11 at Indianapolis.
The event is part of an annual program designed to give small, medium and large companies across the United States the information and knowledge they need to do business in this rapidly changing part of the world. It will begin at 9 a.m. at Eli Lilly and Co. headquarters, 893 S. Delaware St., Indianapolis.
The tour this year is being organized nationally by the US-ASEAN Business Council and is being brought to Indianapolis with the support of Eli Lilly and Co. The Global Business Information Network in Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, the Indiana Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of Commerce's Indianapolis Export Assistance Center also are lending support.
The U.S. ambassadors also will visit Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Portland, Ore., during this year's tour.
The U.S. ambassadors tours have been held annually since 1992 and have met with thousands of small, medium and large companies across the country. The 1999 ambassadors tour focuses on the challenges facing ASEAN, whose member nations include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
This year will see massive change in the region as most economies continue to recover from the Asian economic and financial crisis of 1997-98. The ASEAN nations were previously the fastest-growing major market for U.S. exports, but trade between the United States and these nations slowed last year for the first time since the early 1980s.
Nonetheless, two-way trade between the United States and ASEAN nations last year still came to $112 billion (U.S. dollars), far ahead of that with China or other regional markets.
Despite drastic recessions or slowdowns in growth during 1997 and 1998, most analysts believe that the ASEAN economies have turned the corner and that strong growth will resume in the medium term.
"As a result of the problems that Southeast Asia has experienced, necessary economic and financial reforms are being undertaken that will lay the foundation for strong, more sustainable growth in the 21st century," said Ernest Bower, president of the US-ASEAN Business Council. "If your company is not already in Southeast Asia, now is the time to get over there."
In a recent study, Lawrence S. Davidson, GBIN director and IU professor of business economics and public policy, argued that Midwest exports to Southeast Asia are down but not out. While Southeast Asia is a small market for Midwest exports, it remains a very promising avenue for future sales growth.
"These countries increased their purchases of Midwest exports at double-digit rates near or above 20 percent per year between 1990 and 1996. If the recovery in Southeast Asia continues beyond 1999 and gross domestic product growth approaches past rates, then the future looks rosy for Midwest exporters," Davidson said.
The program will include a morning discussion with the U.S. ambassadors from the six largest markets of ASEAN on the commercial and economic issues in the region and the implications for U.S. business. Participants also will have the opportunity to schedule individual meetings with the U.S. embassy senior commercial officers to discuss project-specific needs and concerns. During the afternoon session, the ambassadors will take part in two roundtables focused on the pharmaceutical and automotive markets in ASEAN.
The cost of the seminar is $100 for those affiliated with the US-ASEAN Business Council or one of its local partners, and $125 for everyone else. To register, contact the US-ASEAN Business Council at 202-289-1911 or online at http://www.us-asean.org/tour/Tour.html
(Andrew Moore (GBIN), 812-855-7964, admoore@indiana.edu; John Goyer (US-ASEAN), 202-289-1911, x227; George Vlahakis (IU), 812-855-0846, gvlahaki@indiana.edu)