*  *  *  Distinguished Guests Ladies and Gentlemen  Introduction For two decades during the East Asian miracle, Southeast Asia grew rapidly. Large volumes of foreign investments helped to transform the economies, creating jobs and expanding exports. This ended abruptly in 1997, when the Asian Crisis swept through the region. The crisis has passed.
But since then, Northeast Asia’s economic performance has outshone Southeast Asia’s. In Southeast Asia, growth has been weaker and more disparate, both direct and portfolio investments have fallen, and ebullience has been replaced by pessimism. There are three main reasons. First, China.