Bank can With recent turmoil in the Asia's economies, many Hawaii companies are scaling back or rethinking their Pacific Rim operations. Some, like the Bank of Hawaii, have already decided to pull out.
help local firms
research Asia
Better due diligence could
help companies compete on the
world stage, says bankerBy Rick Daysog
Star-BulletinGiven well-publicized retreats from the Asia-Pacific region, does an organization like the Asian Development Bank have any relevance for a local company?
For Shoji Nishimoto, it does.
The director of the Manila-based ADB's strategy and policy department said the bank can play a role in local firms' efforts in Asia by making available its vast expertise on doing business in the region or by providing contacts to business and government leaders.
Nishimoto, who was in town last week to deliver a talk sponsored by the East-West Center and the Globalization Research Center, also believes there are plenty of opportunities for local companies to take part in ADB-financed projects.
The ADB -- an international financial institution that provides nearly $6 billion in annual financing for economic development throughout the Pacific Rim -- serves as a lender for large infrastructure projects in lesser developed countries.
But it also has done extensive work in helping to reform Asia's financial markets and banking industries.
Projects funded by the ADB represent opportunities for local planning and engineering firms as well as local financial consulting firms.
Nishimoto believes many U.S. corporations who rushed into Asia during the early 1990s got caught up in the hoopla and did not conduct necessary due diligence.
One of the ADB's roles is to provide resources for businesses to conduct due diligence for their potential investments, Nishimoto said. He noted ADB's staff includes several executives who have an intimate knowledge of the deal-making process in Asia.
The organization also provides access.
Nishimoto and Seiji Naya, director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, said next week's annual meeting will provide local executives with the opportunity to network with ADB representatives, government officials, bankers and other private-sector executives from the Asia-Pacific region.
Group 70 Inc. is one local company that is looking to take advantage of the ADB gathering.
Francis Oda, Group 70's chairman and chief executive officer, said the meeting will allow local firms to showcase their talents in a much more focussed way.
Group 70 is one of Hawaii's largest architecture and planning firms with projects throughout Asia, including Indonesia, the Philippines and China. But the company has never taken part in an ADB project, said Oda.
"In Asia, it's very difficult to get the contract unless you have the contact," added Naya. "Beyond the conference, the ADB means business opportunities."