State, Society and Enterprise Development: Southeast Asia–China Investment Flows

Abstract

The governments of China and Malaysia have deployed their state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to channel investments between both countries. This is to increase private investment flows into the mainland, while in Malaysia it serves an urgent need to draw foreign and domestic investments. These state-led investments have resulted in joint ventures that have included private enterprises owned by Chinese entrepreneurs, an attempt to continue to encourage private investment in business ventures. This article provides insights into three issues. First, it deals with the question of why investments through business networks by Southeast Asian Chinese enterprises in China have not led to the emergence of this community as a global economic force. The second issue deals with the question of whether these state-led infrastructure projects, now comprising SOEs and privately owned Chinese enterprises, will inspire the latter to increase their investments in each of these countries. The third issue involves a review of the theory of transnationalism, in order to determine its applicability in explaining cross-border investment patterns involving Chinese-owned enterprises from Southeast Asia