Asia to post economic rebound this year: ADB

MANILA, Philippines – Prospects are bright for Asian economies this year as the region is expected to post higher growth compared to 2009.

Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), said Asia as a whole is likely to expand by 6.6% in 2010 after posting a 4.5% growth last year.

“Asia has begun its emergence from the global downturn. As such, we believe this to be the opportune time to share experiences and determine ways to further strengthen the region in the months and years ahead,” Kuroda told reporters on Thursday.

Despite this, however, Kuroda warned that this projected recovery has an “underlying fragility.”

“For one thing, while China, India, Indonesia, and some of the smaller economies are doing well, others are still struggling,” he said.

Given this, Kuroda urged Asian nations to enhance domestic and regional demand as well as time its exit strategies for enhanced resilience in the coming years.

Resilience

Compared to most regions, Asia has showed remarkable resiliency during the global economic crisis.

Research group Centennial Asia Advisors, in a report to the ADB, said Asian countries have “built more shock absorbers” and “reduced the number of shock amplifiers in their economies,” thanks to its stronger financial sectors, political stability, and improved regulatory policies.

“Our view is that in our baseline scenario of global recovery interspersed with financial and other stresses, Asian economic growth can continue to recovery smartly into 2011,” the group said.

Aside from these, Centennial Asia cited the region’s “increased diversity of demand” and improved macroeconomic policy regimes, which contributed to greater resilience.

“While still having relatively high inflation, central banks in the region have performed better than in the past to keep inflation under control,” the group said. –Karen Flores, abs-cbnNEWS.com