Trade Policies and Business Opportunities in Southern Asia

Trade Policies and Business Opportunities in Southern Asia Deena Khatkhate Business opportunities tend to multiply in economies which ore open in the sense not only of liberal trade and exchange rate policies but also liberal internal economic policies under which saving and investment decisions are unhampered by government regulations; freedom to undertake any economic activity in response to profit potentiality is unrestricted, of course, within the usual parameters of the countries' social and political goals, and the innovative spirit and entrepreneurial leadership are given a free play. However, it has to be recognised that internal liberalisation can hardly progress unless it is accompanied simultaneously by the external liberalisation. In fact, one cannot function without the other It is the adoption of these outward-oriented trade policies by the NICs and other east Asian and Pacific region countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia which has contributed to their faster growth, which in turn opened up wider markets for foreign investment. Thus, the internal growth opportunities reinforced trade opportunities in other countries and this reinforcing relationship eventually triggered the interest of modern industrial enterprises to set up new firms in east Asian countries.