Asean nations rebound from economic crisis—OECD

TOKYO, Japan—The six major Asean countries have rebounded from the global economic crisis with average expected growth of 7.3 percent this year, and six percent over the next five years, the OECD said Tuesday.

Moreover, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in its 2010 Southeast Asian Economic Outlook that this growth would likely be more balanced.

“The global financial crisis has offered Southeast Asian countries an opportunity to rethink past growth strategies and define new development objectives,” said Kiichiro Fukasaku, an economist at the OECD Development Center in Tokyo.

“Both regional integration and national efforts will help promote more balanced growth in the region,” he added.

Vietnam is expected to post the highest average growth rate in the 2011-2015 period at 7.1 percent, followed by Indonesia with 6.6 percent, Malaysia 5.5 percent, Thailand 5.2 percent, Singapore 4.7 percent, and the Philippines 4.6 percent.

The OECD report urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries to diversify their exports and move up the value chain, while also improving infrastructure to reduce high transportation costs.

They also needed to develop the fiscal policy framework to support their development goals, said the report.

Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. –Agence France-Presse