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To: Ashley Campbell who wrote (19305)	10/27/1997 10:02:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 61433

Big Three automakers still committed to Asia Reuters Story - October 27, 1997 21:22 %AUT %US %CN %JP %TH %IN %MY %VN %USC F C GM V%REUTER P%RTR By Todd Nissen DETROIT, Oct 27 (Reuters) - The Asian financial crisis that roiled the U.S. markets Monday and pushed down Big Three automaker stock prices has not deterred the group from its ambitious expansion plans for the Asia-Pacific region. Although some short-term sales losses are being seen in countries like Thailand, Big Three officials on Monday reiterated that auto markets in Asian countries remain a good long-term bet. Ford Motor Co. has not pulled back from any of its expansion plans in countries like China, India, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand -- investments that total about $1 billion -- because of the financial turmoil, a spokesman said. "There are some short-term jostles with currency devaluations and stock market jitters, but it hasn't affected anything in the long-term," said Tom Hoyt, a spokesman for the U.S. No. 2 automaker. Francois Castaing, the head of Chrysler Corp's international operations, told Reuters in Singapore that the devaluation of the Thai baht has hurt some of its local partners, as well as sales in the region. "In the short-term, we have to see how the partners we have in Thailand will survive their own issues," he said. "Depending on the outcome of that, we will take appropriate action to see if we can continue the business and go through the crisis in Thailand. We just have to be patient." General Motors Corp. Chairman Jack Smith said last week the world's largest automaker remains optimistic about the market despite the currency devaluations. The company is pushing ahead with plans to boost its Asian market share to 10 percent over the next 10 years from about 4.5 percent now. Merrill Lynch analyst Nicholas Lobaccaro said the financial upheaval will push back Asian growth opportunities for the Big Three. But he noted they have such a small percentage of the market -- about 10 percent compared to 90 percent for Japanese automakers -- that the short-term financial impact will be small. "Their failure to penetrate Japan and the Far East may be a blessing in disguise in the short-run," he said. What is more of an immediate concern, Lobaccaro said, is if the financial chill spreads to booming Latin American markets like Brazil, where GM, Ford and Chrysler have all been aggressively expanding. "If Brazil were to experience a big type of macro-economic problem, it would definitely be material to the Big Three," he said. Meantime, stock prices of the Big Three gave back some of their hard-fought gains from earlier this year. GM, which recently hit a 52-week high of $72.44, fell more than $4 to $64. Ford stock has climbed the highest, 44 percent since January. But it finished the day down $2.44 at $44. Chrysler fell the same amount to $33.50.