03 February,2009 12:43 PM IST | | AFP
Asia could enjoy a rapid economic recovery next year once the rest of the world claws out of recession, IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said today.
"Once the world economy regains its footing a rapid recovery is possible," he said, predicting Asian economic growth of more than 5.0 per cent in 2010, almost twice the pace expected in 2009.
Asian countries cannot begin to recover until the rest of the global economy escapes from the current "major downturn" because they rely heavily on exports, the head of the International Monetary Fund said.
Asia was likely to post economic growth of 2.7 per cent this year, with the region's developing countries seen expanding 5.5 per cent, Strauss-Kahn said, speaking to an online briefing from Washington.
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"But it's very uncertain and a worse outcome cannot be ruled out," he said. Once the US and European economies start to rebound, however, some Asian economies "may recover very fast," he added.
"Some Asian economies are really dynamic. They have a lot of resources. They have very strong fundamentals." Interest rate cuts and government spending would help spur the recovery in Asia, whose banks are not suffering problems on the same scale as their US and European peers, Strauss-Kahn said.
He said certain countries in the region, including China, have more room for fiscal measures to stimulate their economies.
