ABSTRACT

This study builds on locational factors and more so, focuses on the developing countries of Southeast Asia. The majority of studies (Le. Hill and Lindsey, 1987; Riedel, 1991; Aquino and Bolanos, 1993; Chia, 1993; Pang, 1993; and Pasuk and Baker, 1998) that have been undertaken from this perspective have been survey based. They have attributed FDI flows into the original five members of the ASEAN countries (the ASEAN-5 - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) to a combination of factors that can be summarized into: • Political, social and economic stability. • Buoyant economies with rapidly growing domestic markets. • Favorable factor endowments, particularly natural resources and labor supply

in the ASEAN-4 (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand), and human resources and infrastructure in Singapore.