Asia is rebounding fast but the region is unable to return to the high growths it experienced in the past few years before the global economic meltdown, head of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) said.

Keynoting a regional economic forum held here Thursday, JBIC President and CEO Hiroshi Watanabe said Asia is going to have the recovery in the shape of the reverse "J," meaning the reaching point is much lower than the original.

He said Asia's "glorious time" of growth from 2005 to 2007 was sustained by the excess consumption by the United States and its "too loose" financial operations.

"If we make a target to return to that kind of growth, we will make mistakes," Watanabe, also former Japanese vice finance minister, said.

The Asian Development Bank forecasts that the emerging Asia has grown 4.5 percent in 2009 and the region's economy is set to continue the rebound to reach 6.6 percent in 2009, higher than the 6.1 percent growth registered in 2008.

Watanabe said emerging economies, particularly the populous ones -- China, India and Indonesia, performed quite well in the past year and there are signs that domestic consumption has picked up in the region, in a process to balance the region's growth engines.

He said Asia can still lead a good initiative to the world's recovery.

(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2010)