United States Foreign Investments Southeast Asia

Back in the 1960s, American aid paid for the construction of the first modern highways in Thailand. But today Japanese cars fill them. The contrast underscores a point that is becoming clear to American diplomats and executives: American investment in Asia isn't keeping up with Asia's growth. Secretary of State James A. Baker III noted at an annual ministerial conference of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations that U.S.

The fall of the once high-flying Southeast Asian stock markets is accelerating dramatically this week with steep declines across the board, and analysts call it the price that developing countries must sometimes pay when joining the world's hot-wired financial system. Led by the Philippines--where stocks plunged a whopping 9.

The headquarters of Thailand's Unicord Co. are in a nondescript suite of offices on a rundown side street in Bangkok--a far cry from the boardrooms of giant multinational companies where most major mergers and acquisitions are carried out. But Unicord has carved a special niche for itself in Southeast Asia by becoming the region's largest investor in the United States.

The headquarters of Thailand's Unicord Co. are in a nondescript suite of offices on a rundown side street in Bangkok--a far cry from the boardrooms of giant multinational companies where most major mergers and acquisitions are carried out. But Unicord has carved a special niche for itself in Southeast Asia by becoming the region's largest investor in the United States.

The fall of the once high-flying Southeast Asian stock markets is accelerating dramatically this week with steep declines across the board, and analysts call it the price that developing countries must sometimes pay when joining the world's hot-wired financial system. Led by the Philippines--where stocks plunged a whopping 9.

Back in the 1960s, American aid paid for the construction of the first modern highways in Thailand. But today Japanese cars fill them. The contrast underscores a point that is becoming clear to American diplomats and executives: American investment in Asia isn't keeping up with Asia's growth. Secretary of State James A. Baker III noted at an annual ministerial conference of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations that U.S.