ASEAN investment cooperation remained focused on the implementation of the Framework Agreement on the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) and on engaging major dialogue partners on investment consultations.
As of 1 January 2003, the Temporary Exclusion Lists (TEL) for the manufacturing sector of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Thailand have been phased out thereby broadening the scope of economic activities where ASEAN investors are given national treatment. Malaysia and Singapore have no temporary exclusion list.
The establishment of the AIA is expected to encourage investors to think increasingly in the regional terms and adopt a regional investment strategy and network of operations. The scheme aims to promote a more efficient division of labour and industrial activities across the region, creating opportunities for greater industrial productivity and cost competitiveness.
Efforts in drafting a protocol to amend the AIA Agreement in order to reflect the decision of the AIA Ministerial Council on the shortening of the ending dates for opening up of industries and granting of national treatment to non-ASEAN investors are proceeding.
To promote ASEAN’s investment opportunities and developments, an ASEAN Investment Forum was held on 15 October 2002 at the fringes of the ASEAN Trade Fair in Thailand. The Forum was hosted by the Thai Board of Investment. Participants from business associations met with trade and investment officers of ASEAN and foreign embassies in Bangkok, ASEAN senior investment officials, and ASEAN Secretariat officers to discuss the prospects, experiences, and the policy framework on investing in ASEAN.
The first of a series of the ASEAN Investment Networking and Outreach Programme between the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Investment and private sector representatives was held on 17 March 2003 in Singapore. It involved discussions between ASEAN senior investment officials and representatives from the Japanese External Trade Organisation (JETRO) on ASEAN’s investment and business environment.
Work continued on the harmonization of FDI data collection and reporting system in ASEAN in compliance with the set of deliverables agreed by the AIA Council. A comprehensive and comparable set of statistics on foreign direct investment in ASEAN has been compiled and published. The 2002 edition of Statistics of Foreign Direct Investment in ASEAN: Comprehensive Data Set was published in early 2003.
A number of capacity building activities were conducted to help bridge the development gap among the ASEAN countries and to promote better understanding on key issues of FDI to the region. These activities included a Seminar on International Investment Position (IIP), which was jointly organized by Bank Indonesia, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the ASEAN Secretariat on 1-3 April 2002 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
The other project was a Seminar on the Collection and Reporting Data on Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in ASEAN, which was held on 31 March – 1 April 2003 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. This was organized by the ASEAN Secretariat together with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Seminar facilitated the development of a work programme on collecting and reporting cross-border M&A activities in the region. Cross-border M&As significantly contributed to FDI flows in ASEAN.
The First ASEAN-China Investment Consultations was held in Singapore on 17 March 2003. It contributed to building better understanding on the overall investment policy frameworks in China and in ASEAN. Both sides agreed on the need to cooperate and work together in exchanging investment statistics and in holding further consultations on investment regime and regulatory framework.
