Asia-Pacific is leading global economy recovery

Asia- Pacific Already In Recovery Phase, Says Moody's

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 (Bernama) -- The Asia- Pacific is already well into the recovery phase, leading the global economy out of recession, according to Moody's Economy.com.

Its senior economist Matt Robinson said 2010 will resemble something closer to normal for the region after two tumultuous years.

In a statement Wednesday, Robinson said domestic activity led the recovery in the Asia-Pacific, bouyed by fiscal stimulus injections and expansionary monetary policy settings.

Increased government spending on infrastructure, business investment in new capital and the gradual export recovery were the drivers of economic activity in the region in the past year, he said.

Robinson said exports and production will continue their gradual recovery and the household consumption and business investment will improve as confidence grew.

"Many economies will continue to rely on fiscal stimulus. But monetary policy stimulus will gradually be withdrawn," he said.
In a separate statement, Standard & Poor's said given that much of the improvement stemmed from unconventional government policy measures, the private sector's effectiveness in taking over as the primary enginer of growth for the world economy remained a critical determinant of 2010's outlook.

"Our outlook for 2010 is far from rosy and additional risks might emerge from other key external variables, including geopolitical events and oil prices," said the financial research and analysis firm.

"One of our expectations for 2010 is that the swing from negative to positive real gross domestic product (GDP) growth will likely occur simultaneously across regions, though the pace of recovery will vary greatly by country," it said.

Standard & Poor's said bolstered by fiscal stimulus and monetary measures, economies worldwide were broadly set to enter into a period of positive quarterly gains in GDP beginning in the third quarter of 2009.
-- BERNAMA