East Asian economy to grow 4.2 percent in 2009: ADB

MANILA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua/GNA) -- Fourteen developing economies of East Asia are expected to grow 4.2 percent in 2009 and the growth will continue to pick up to 6.8 percent in 2010, the Asian Developing Bank said in its latest forecast on Tuesday.

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.

Emerging East Asia economies comprise the 10 economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus the People's Republic of China (PRC); China's Hong Kong and Taiwan; the Republic of Korea.

China's economy, which managed to maintain growth throughout the global financial crisis, is likely to grow faster in 2010 than in 2009, with the pace dependent on the speed of the global recovery. ADB is maintaining its forecasts for the PRC at 8.2 percent for this year and 8.9 percent in 2010.

Asia Economic Monitor noted that the pace of recovery is uneven across emerging East Asia, however. The newly industrialized economies of Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, 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 in 2010.

"Emerging East Asia is rebounding strongly and growth rates next year are likely to slightly outpace 2008 in most countries," said Jong-Wha Lee, ADB's Chief Economist and head of the Office of Regional Economic Integration which prepared the report.

"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 rollback the stimulus to ensure sustained recovery but avoid both excessive inflation and hefty fiscal shortfalls," said Lee.

GNA