Prospects for Foreign Firms in Developing Economies of the Asian and Pacific Region

Abstract

In the last two decades, several developing economies in the Asian and Pacific region, notably the Asian newly industrializing economies (NIEs)—Hong Kong; Republic of Korea; Singapore; and Taipei, China—and the four larger members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN-4)—Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand—have benefited from foreign direct investment (FDI) and related contributions by foreign multinational firms to economic growth and development. Partially in response to positive contributions in these and other developing economies, other economies in the Asian and Pacific region have also encouraged FDI in more recent years, with the People’s Republic of China, beginning in the late 1970s, being the most prominent example. The four largest members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC-4)—Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka—also began to encourage FDI more in the late 1980s…