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Meeting Summary
PBEC Steering Committee Meeting
April 8, 2001
7:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Venue: Hotel Nikko, Pegasus Room, 1st Floor
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) - Mr. Errol Clark, Chairman
Mr. Clark reported that the Committee addressed four areas impacting FDI:
- Individual landscape at the multilateral and the individual country level (including bi-laterals)
- Some of the key concerns and issues for both government and business in respect of FDI
- What is the possible role of PBEC in advancing FDI liberalization and FDI initiatives being considered
- FDI's objectives, work programs and constraints
Mr. Clark reported on the international landscape at the multilateral level and stated that there is no substantive FDI initiative underway. Due to time restraints, Mr. Clark did not report on the individual countries, but stated that there was a concern for the proliferation of bi-lateral agreements in the absence of any serious multinational initiatives currently unfolding. In regards to key concerns and issues, the Committee recognized four emerging concerns relating to FDI that needed to be noted and acted upon. First, the globalization process impacting business sectors within certain PBEC members, in particular ASEAN, by raising big issues concerning sector competitiveness or addressing this issue. The second, the impact of the economic slowdown in the U.S. and Japan, and emerging concerns in certain countries about sustaining FDI in those areas and attracting new FDI. The third concern was the impact of the transition to Democracy in certain Asian countries and how this was having a profound effect on FDI. The final concern was recognition of the powerful role of the media in impacting the public perception towards FDI and the need for a coordinated private sector response, referred to as the CNN factor. There is a lack of private sector input into FDI policy formulation and this presents an opportunity for an organization, like PBEC, to take a leadership role in linking with officials. As for the action plan of the PBEC FDI Committee, the charter developed in 1995 will be reviewed and updated to see if there is a case for PBEC to collaborate with APEC through the APEC Investment Group.
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