Mission Statement:

Foreign Direct Investment has played a major role in the growth and dynamism of the Asia Pacific economies. To sustain sound development of these economies, sound investment regimes need to be put into place, which would adequately facilitate the free flow of investment into the region.

Within reason, international investors should be willing to accept certain obligations that are placed upon business firms in the national interest. At the same time, it is essential that governments should respect the autonomy of enterprises operating in their country, recognizing that the success of such ventures is in the best interests of their own economic development.

In consideration of these points, the working committee on foreign direct investment has set itself the following goals since its establishment in May 1992:

• Represent the business interests of PBEC members in the investment liberalization process.
• Provide business input to the APEC liberalization process by developing PBEC policy positions.
• Conduct a periodical review of impediments to foreign investment in the region and based on the results, formulate practical counter-measures.

Activities:

The working committee is active in a number of important areas. In May 1998, at the PBEC International General Meeting in Chile, the committee presented the PBEC FDI index, which assessed the investment environment throughout the region from the investor's perspective, and compiled evaluations and comparisons of PBEC foreign investment regimes. This will serve as the basis for ongoing future work.

The working committee is also pressing for a successful conclusion of the multilateral agreement on investment (MAI) by the OECD. The following links will take you to the Agenda, Attendee List, Minutes, and the Meeting Summary of the Tokyo IGM 2001.

Leadership:

Chairman:
Tan Sri Datuk Zainal Abidin Sulong
Chairman
Malaysian Industrial Development Authority
PBEC Malaysia