Auto sales in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam for the year 2000 are estimated to have been more than 735,000 units, with the volume projected to nearly double by the middle of this decade. This is why AFTA has drawn the interest of the major US and European automotive companies. Ford and GM have already made substantial investments in the Philippines and Thailand. Right now, they are mostly Japanese companies in the automotive or electronic sectors. The only European firms in the AICO scheme are Volvo and Nestle.
None are German.
A feasibility study has been completed for the Singapore-Kunming Rail Link, a project that envisions the linking of mainland Southeast Asia s railways to one another and to Kunming in southern China. Southeast Asia has substantial sources of energy of various types - oil, gas, coal and hydro. Just recently, a major pipeline connecting Indonesia s Natuna fields to Singapore was inaugurated by President Abdurrahman Wahid and Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. It calls for the development and use of ICT for the delivery of government services and for social purposes. Their development requires consultants, financing, materials, equipment and technology.