Asia's economic malaise

Asia's economic malaise

The current woes of the emerging Asian tigers can be traced
solely to the economic slowdowns in the United States and Japan,
both major trading partners for the troubled economies. Among
other onslaughts, the emerging Asian markets have been hit
squarely by the end of the U.S. information technology business
boom.

According to some estimates, Asia's exports of IT-related
products account for about 40 percent of the region's recent
economic growth. Given that Singapore and Taiwan are leading
exporters in that category, the slowdown in these economies seems
a given.

The dollar's continued decline has adversely affected these
economies' export drive. Chances are slim that the situation will
take a turn for the better.

The ongoing development in the emerging Asian markets have
demonstrated anew the defects inherent in their excessively heavy
reliance on exports. The lesson drawn from this, bitter as it is,
must be taken to heart.

Asian economies must further diversify their industries so as
to encourage each economy to focus on an industrial area in which
it excels.

-- Yomiuri Shimbun, Tokyo