Asia can weather the global storm

Economies in Asia are well placed to withstand a further worsening of the global economy, according to a report released by Fitch Ratings this week. In general, healthy trade and fiscal balances, policy flexibility and their resilience in 2009 suggests that most countries in the region are well-protected against contagion from further shocks from Western Europe and the US.

The report “Emerging Asian sovereign pressure points” noted that Thailand combines high exposure to a global slowdown with limited scope for monetary policy stimulus, but in contrast, Indonesia has a track record of resilience to global economic shocks and has the most scope for a policy response....