High-technology trade mission will head to Southeast Asia: recruitment begins for U.S. companies - September 7-19, 1998 - related articles on international trade

Business America, July, 1998 by Paul Kullman

Continued end-user demand and competitive pressures are propelling the telecommunications market forward. The areas of greatest opportunity include technologies that maximize capacity (especially wireless), value-added services, and convergence technology. Telephone density remains a low 8 percent in Manila and about 2 percent nationwide with only 5.8 million land lines installed to date. An additional 1.6 million lines will be installed in the next three years. The wireless segment will expand a robust 30 percent over the next three years as the strong carriers expand into new service areas.

Although the growth of the environmental sector is highly dependent on the health of the national economy, the water and wastewater segment of this sector (1997 estimated size: $351 million) continues to offer good opportunities for U.S. equipment exporters. The air pollution control sector is smaller ($28 million estimated for 1997), but projected 1998 growth remains a solid 12 percent, with imports accounting for almost 100 percent of air-pollution control and monitoring equipment. U.S. products are favored over their foreign competition because of their durability and functionality. The government's efforts to improve air quality in the metropolitan Manila area and the Asian Development Bank's broader efforts to develop a sustainable pollution control policy in the Philippines make this subsector a viable prospect for U.S. exporters.

Thailand

There are excellent market opportunities in Thailand in electronic components (integrated circuits, cable assemblies, connectors, microwave devices), software (accounting systems, data-base management, Internet, and multimedia), computer services (systems integration, custom programming, and data-processing management), computers (including peripherals), and electronics industry production and testing equipment (semiconductor production, circuit component assembly, and equipment for circuit-boards and testing).

Thailand has experienced a decline in the demand for telecommunications services, including the following: land-line telephones, cellular phones, radio communications, and paging and VSAT services. Consequently, providers of these services have reduced or deferred investment in their expansion projects. However, there are still opportunities, particularly in the areas of strategic partnerships. The installation of rural public long-distance phone lines and submarine fiber-optic cables is not affected by the current crisis. Privatization of the Telephone Organization of Thailand is being accelerated. Best prospects for this sector include telephone switching equipment, optical fiber cable, mobile telephone equipment, and private automatic branch exchanges.

The growth of U.S. market share will depend in large part on product innovation in response to the needs of an increasingly selective market, where each nation seeks a competitive advantage over its neighbors in order to bring about a resumption of growth. Companies offering a well thought-out niche product will have the best chances of success under current circumstances.