Southeast Asia is a growing destination for U.S. companiesshifting business out of China, according to a survey by theAmerican Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, Reuters reports. Thesurvey of 356 senior executives at companies in the region shows21% now plan to move some operations to Southeast Asia in the nexttwo years to reduce their reliance on China, up from 15% in lastyear's survey.

The top destinations for companies were Malaysia and thePhilippines, with 27% of executives citing each country. ThePhilippines has become much more popular since last year's survey,when it was the top choice of only15% of respondents. Vietnam, lastyear's top choice, moved down to 24% this year.

Rising labor costs in China may be the reason companies areconsidering moving their operations elsewhere. According to thesurvey, 92% of respondents said they felt positively aboutinvesting opportunities in the ASEAN region, which includesIndonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines,Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei.