In its fifth annual survey of members of AmCham in Asean, who together represent an estimated US$50 billion (Bt1.9 trillion) of regional investment, senior executives said they were increasingly confident of business growth, workforce expansion and profit growth for their business in Asean markets and were generally optimistic in their outlook for the world economy.

About 80 per cent of American senior managers expect to expand their business operations in the region while only 3 per cent think operations will shrink.

Judy Benn, executive director of AmCham Thailand, said yesterday that the results indicated there was a fundamental sense of confidence in the Thai market.

"Our members continue to regard Thailand as important to US investment. Thailand, and more broadly, the Asean region, hold significant potential for growth and increased US investment, subject to improvements in liberalising markets, enhancing the country's infrastructure and taking more practical and comprehensive steps to improve Thailand's competitiveness," she said.

AmCham member companies employ more than 250,000 Thais. Nearly 70 per cent of those members surveyed here expect to increase the number of local employees this year.

Most expect the expatriate workforce, however, to remain the same, with 13 per cent expecting a decrease.

Corruption and dissatisfaction with local customs and taxation and revenue offices remain impediments to doing business in the region, except in Singapore, although dissatisfaction levels have mitigated slightly.

"Other than in Singapore, corruption continues to be identified as the major impediment to doing business in the region and is a source of high dissatisfaction for members," Benn said.

"This, in combination with weak laws and regulations, has a significant effect on investment decisions and is a vital competitiveness issue."

Of AmCham's members in Thailand, 67 per cent expressed concerns with corruption, down slightly from 69 per cent last year, while 45 per cent expressed concerns about local protectionism, an increase of 3 percentage points.

"The US is the second largest source of foreign direct investment and represents the largest market for Thai exports. In 2005, Thailand's exports to the US were valued at more than $20 billion," Benn said.

"We are committed to broadening this presence and further deepening our commercial and economic ties even as Thailand comes under growing pressure from its increasingly competitive and investor-friendly neighbours in Asean."

In Asean, 62 per cent of the respondents believe the Asean market will be more important to their company's global revenues in the next two years, thanks largely to economic recovery and improvements in infrastructure.

On average 68 per cent are optimistic of profit growth this year, with members from Vietnam (76 per cent) and Malaysia (75 per cent) particularly bullish about an increase in profits.

Expansion of local workforces were expected by 58 per cent of the respondents, with more than half expecting local workforce increases of 10-50 per cent on current levels, and only 7 per cent expecting decreases.

Members from Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam were most positive about local workforce expansion.