Asia exports set to rise: CSFB

Asia exports set to rise: CSFB

The much anticipated recovery in the global economy will bolster Asian exports this year even if the United States, the world's biggest economy, posts a smaller turnaround than expected, a report released Wednesday said.

"For this year, we believe that even a mild recovery in the US is likely to be complemented by a strong surge in pent-up investment demand from across Asia," global investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) said.

The fortunes of Asia's export-dependent economies, which have been squeezed badly by the global slowdown last year and fallout from the September terror attacks, are about to improve from the second quarter onwards, said CSFB.

Leading economic indicators in the U.S. and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which usually leads the region by six months, are showing signs of a revival, the investment bank said.

Asia is well poised to make the necessary investments to boost production capacity having been forced to make cuts due to the 1997-1998 regional financial crisis, unlike the U.S. which is still suffering the consequences of over-investment, it said.

"So if the U.S. is to witness several years of muted investment spending, as it digests the impact of its 1998-2000 over-investment boom, Asia faces no such problems of digesting over-investment," said CSFB. -- AFP