MALAYSIA AMONG SEVEN COUNTRIES TO LEAD ASIA'S MARCH

KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 (Bernama) -- Asia’s march to prosperity will be led by
seven economies including Malaysia, according to a new report commissioned by
the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

In its "Asia 2050 — Realising the Asian Century," the bank said that the
rest are Japan and South Korea that are already developed economies, and China,
India, Indonesia and Thailand.

The seven economies had a combined total population of 3.1 billion (78
percent of total Asia) and GDP of US$14.2 trillion (87 percent of Asia) in
2010.

Under the Asian Century scenario, their share of population by 2050 would be
73 percent and their GDP would be 90 percent of Asia.

"They alone will account for 45 percent of global GDP. Their average per
capita income would be US$45,800 compared with US$36,600 for the world as a
whole," said the report which was unveiled at the ADB’s 44th Annual Meeting in
Hanoi, Vietnam today.

Between 2010 and 2050, these seven economies would account for as much as 87
percent of total GDP growth in Asia and of almost 55 percent of global GDP
growth.

"They will thus be the engines of not only Asia’s economy but also the
global economy," it said.

The ADB said Malaysia and Thailand, once among the poorest, have solidly
established themselves as upper-middle income countries.

By the middle of this century, an additional three billion Asians could
enjoy higher living standards but only if Asia sustains its present growth
momentum and addresses daunting multigenerational challenges and risks, it said.

According to the report, some countries have already achieved levels of
urbanisation that the rest of Asia would achieve by 2050.

The economic prosperity and high living standards of Japan (67 percent
urban), Korea (83 percent urban) and Malaysia (72 percent urban), along
with the economies of Hong Kong, China and Singapore, demonstrate the potential
benefits of Asia’s future urbanisation.

The report also gave a insight on what to expect of a successful Asian
mega-city of 2050, saying that they would have a density similar to Tokyo in
2010.

"Urban sprawl is limited because prices, incentives. Mass public transport
is ubiquitous, clean and efficient. Rail mass transit systems predominate in the
densest, richest countries; bus rapid transit systems are the norm in others."

The report also said that the Asean countries, once major exporters of oil
and gas, have now become net importers of oil, and are likely to become net
importers of gas in the next three decades.

The oil import requirement is expected to reach 2.8 mb/d by 2030 and 5.4
mb/d by 2050 while oil import dependency increases from 25 percent in 2008 to 88
percent in 2050.