United States manufacturers have returned to Asia with their investment dollars after taking flight during the 1997-98 financial crisis.
A survey due to be released today by Deloitte Consulting shows that foreign direct investment (FDI) into Asia by US manufacturers surged to US$6.8 billion in 1999 - after having slowed to a trickle at just US$282 million in 1998.
The return of FDI flows to pre-crisis levels has coincided with a fundamental shift in targets, said Stephen Chang, managing director of Deloitte Consulting's Singapore office, and manufacturing practice leader for East Asia.
'Contrary to popular belief that FDI heads to the low-wage countries, the survey shows that the largest proportion went to high-wage countries,' said Mr Chang.
The biggest Asian recipient of US manufacturing FDI flows in 1999, was Singapore - which attracted US$3.4 billion, or half of the total investments made by the sector in the region in 1999.
The data contained valuable lessons for policymakers in emerging markets, said Mr Chang: 'In order to attract investments they will have to get their fundamentals right, which means they must offer political stability, a disciplined and educated workforce, and reliable infrastructure.'