East Asian region to expand by 5.1% in 2009

ADB forecasts the East Asian region comprising the People's Republic of China (PRC); Hong Kong, China; Republic of Korea; Mongolia; and China's Taiwan to expand by 5.1 percent this year and 7.3 percent next year while Southeast Asia is now set to grow 0.6 percent in 2009 and 4.5 percent in 2010. Southeast Asia is made up of Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; Indonesia; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Malaysia; Myanmar; the Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; and Vietnam.

The Manila-based multilateral development bank said emerging East Asian economies have performed better than anticipated thanks to swift policy responses and an improved external environment.

It said the region is set for a speedy recovery this year and in 2010, but noted that the pace of recovery is uneven across emerging East Asia, however. The newly industrialized economies of Hong Kong, China; the Republic of Korea; Singapore; and China's Taiwan, along with the more export-oriented economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), were hit hard by the global financial crisis but are poised for a swifter recovery. The less open ASEAN economies were damaged much less by the global downturn and are not expected to post a major rebound in growth in2010.

"Despite the V-shaped recovery now underway, it's essential that fiscal and monetary stimulus remain accommodative where possible to put economies on a sound footing. A key challenge for each economy will be to carefully time when best to roll back the stimulus to ensure sustained recovery but avoid both excessive inflation and hefty fiscal shortfalls," Lee said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2009)