As part of a study on Japanese direct investment, this study covers four other countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, which together account for 95 per cent of the total flow of Japanese investment into ASEAN in the period 1985-87. This study has three main parts: a review of existing theoretical approaches to overseas investment and especially Japanese overseas investment; a study of supply side factors driving and shaping demand side factors within the ASEAN host countries.
This book is a study of ties between China and Japan and their Asian counterparts. It does not therefore directly treat bilateral relations between these powers, as these already constitute the subject of many other studies. A lengthy perspective has been taken into account in order to recall past legacies, some of which are still painfully contentious, and to record evolutions in attitudes and strategies vis- -vis Asian countries.
Within a few short months in 1997, Asian economies that had been considered not only healthy but "miraculous" suddenly fell off a precipice as investors withdrew massively first from Asian currencies and, in rapid order, from equity markets across the region. On October 27 1997, the turmoil in Asian markets spooked Wall Street in the largest single-day decline in history, a drop of 550 points. It was predicted that the Asian crash could drive the US trade deficit from $191 billion to $300 billion by 1998, creating huge new tensions in relations with some of the largest US trading partners. These wrenching changes, following a generation of success, raise numerous questions about the steps that led to the crisis, its likely outcome and the limits and constraints of "Asian capitalism". Edith Terry presents a blow-by-blow account of the crisis, beginning with the 1996 collapse of the Bangkok Bank of Commerce. In her overview, she links the fall of the Asian miracle with the theme of globalization, arguing that the crisis demonstrates the urgency of dismantling restraints to trade, investment, and financial services, and that the United States should take leadership in pushing for new and sweeping reform through the World Trade Organization and in bilateral negotiations with its trading partners. The final section of the book deals with the rise of the "Asian miracle" - how the myth was created, who created it, why it succeeded for so long - and is informed by analysis of the Japanese prototype.
The organization of this study reflects the importance of such strategic factors as determinants of trade and investment. Chapter 2 focuses on the home environment of Japanese firms, and with comparisons drawn wih the US economy, illustrate how, as the economy has restructured and modernized in the post-war period, firm behaviour has evolved too. Chapter 3 is an assessment of the concept of strategic behaviour of governments and firms, what it might look like and how it matters to trade and investment. Chapter 4 focuses on an examination of East Asian trade patterns with Japan and their evolution, while Chapter 5 focuses - through firm level comparisons and surveys - on patterns of FDI, in particular on production networks in the region. Regression analysis is used in Chapter 6 to test for the significance of 'strategic' behaviour by governments as a determinant of FDI.
This monograph is the first book-length study of foreign direct investment in Southeast Asia during both the late colonial period and in the contemporary period. It examines the leading Southeast Asian countries receiving foreign investment this century. The arrival of today's Asian investors, from Japan and the four Asian NICs, is described after a brief discussion of the transitionary period of warfare, decolonization and assertion of newly independent states. Special attention is given to the impact of foreign investment on the economic development of the host country.
The world is seeing a shift in economic power from west to east. Japanese FDI differs from the American example, and this will become crucial. This book tracks trends in Japanese FDI to other Asian countries, suggests future policies, analyzes methodological aspects, and provides an overview of Japanese FDI.
This work takes an in-depth look at the muli-faceted contemporary relationship between Singapore and Japan since the end of World War II. It is the story of a relationship between an economic superpower, Japan, and an enterprising city-state whose leaders have sought to emulate not only Japan's economic success but several key facets of Japanese society as well. No other country surpasses Singapore in its public admiration of Japan. How is it possible for a multi-ethnic Singapore to emulate a relatively homogeneous Japan? What features of economic and political motives behind the attempt to emulate Japan? These and other questions are adressed in this work, which will be of interest to scholars of the international relations and security of East and Southeast Asia.
