Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

submittedVersion

Publication Date

2005

Abstract

Infrastructure can be unreliable and administration subject to corruption in Asia's rapidly developing economies. Foreign investment is thus drawn to privileged investment enclaves, as well as in and around centers of international infrastructure. This context provides opportunity for Singapore-styled industrial parks, through the provision of superior infrastructure, the ability to negotiate investment concessions at inter-government level and, where existing, through the links to influential Chinese business groups in the investment location. Batamindo Industrial Park and Bintan Industrial Estate in Indonesia were the prototypes. This paper revisits the Parks, and offers a stock-take on the challenges confronting these flagship projects. Evidence from on-site surveys and interviews are presented. This paper concludes that the raison d'être for the projects has overestimated the attractiveness of the low-cost investment enclaves for multinational companies, and the projects' potential has been largely overshadowed by socio-political uncertainties in the host environment.

Discipline

International Business

Research Areas

Finance

Publication

Journal of Asia-Pacific Business

Volume

5

Issue

4

First Page

43

Last Page

65

ISSN

1059-9231

Identifier

10.1300/J098v05n04_04

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1300/J098v05n04_04

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