CALIFORNIA-ASIA BUSINESS COUNCIL (CAL-ASIA)
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

PALO ALTO, CA. June 10, 2011- The US Ambassadors to three members of ASEAN encouraged their audience of Bay Area businessmen to do business in Southeast Asia at a talk hosted earlier this week by the law firm SNR Denton and organized by the California-Asia Business Council, the US-ASEAN Business Council, and the Asia Foundation. 

The talk was billed as a discussion about “America’s Hidden Market,” and the size of that market is continuing to increase.  David Adelman, the US Ambassador to Singapore, observed that “in March of 2010, for the first time in history, US exports to Asia exceeded US exports to Europe. Those of you in the room know that is not likely to change or reverse in our lifetimes.”  Adelman noted that Singapore is one of California top five trade partners, and that the 10-member ASEAN region ranks among the top five US trade partners.  ASEAN, he said, is a gateway to Asia.

Despite the growth of US-Asia and US-ASEAN trade, the ambassadors agreed that more remains to be done.  Scot Marciel, the US Ambassador to Indonesia, said that at the moment, “the bilateral trade” between the US and Indonesia “is about 20 billion dollars a year. That’s far too low for two countries with a combined population of 500 million.” And although intellectual property rights, local protectionism, and corruption all remain issues, part of the problem lies with American firms: “Frankly there just hasn’t been enough attention paid,” Marciel said.

Luckily, opportunities abound for American products, as attested by moderator Joe Ryan, president of Top 1 Oil (San Mateo).  Top Oil has been active in the region for more than four decades, and their lubricant business continues to expand both in sales and geography, he said. According to Adelman, in Southeast Asia “people pay a premium for American professional services [and] American products. Most often American products tend to be the leading edge of technology.”

Daniel Shields, the US Ambassador to Brunei, said that in his post, “the most promising area is energy related technology. If you have technology that can assist the major firms involved in energy in Brunei, you can help them as they conduct the necessary modernization of their plant and facility. There’s tremendous demand for that kind of technology.”

There is also abundant potential for educational exchanges, Shields said. “At present there are only forty Brunei students in the US as opposed to a thousand in the UK. But we can do a lot better than forty. I think this area of California is well positioned to take advantage of that opportunity.

Reported by Jason Wu

About Cal-Asia - The California-Asia Business Council (Cal-Asia) is California's leading non-profit, Asia-focused business association. Its mission is to help California firms develop or expand their commercial ties with Asia.   Web sites: www.CalAsia.org, www.AsiaNight.org.