Asia could see economic recovery in 2010, ADB says

By Kim Deok-hyun
SEOUL, June 18 (Yonhap) -- Asia's economies, which have been hard hit by the
current global economic crisis, will recover next year if fiscal stimulus
measures by governments in the region take effect, a senior official at the Asian
Development Bank said Thursday.
Rejat Nag, managing director of the Manila-based ADB, warned however that an
economic recovery in Asia's export-dependent economies could be delayed unless
global trade recovers at a faster pace.
"Asia will lead the way out of the crisis for the rest of the world," said Nag at
the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Seoul, projecting that Asia may grow 6
percent next year, up from an estimated 3.4 percent growth this year.
"However, Asia is still reliant on the rest of the world," Nag said.
For decades, East Asia's growth model has been vulnerable to economic turmoil in
developed nations in the West because it relies on the buying power of Western
economies.
The current economic crisis provided a rare opportunity for Asia to retool its
export-dependent growth model, Nag said.
The International Monetary Fund recently predicted that Asian economies will grow
4.8 percent this year and 6.1 percent next year.
A number of participants at the forum said Asia could reshape its business model
to navigate through future economic crises on its own.
"Asia has to start on a very different growth paradigm," said Peter Sands, chief
executive officer of Standard Chartered Bank. "The time has come for Asia to
become a consumer in its own right."
kdh@yna.co.kr
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